Fool's Paradise
by Laney1718
Summary: When Tom and Kathryn are abducted by alien scientists with an obsession for rare species, how long will it take for voyager to find them? Even if they manage to rescue them, can things ever go back to the way they were before? How long can the crew keep searching for a lost cause before they give up? **This story does NOT contain extreme violence or torture.
1. Prologue

He walked down the hallway with a determined glare. The scales on his turquoise skin vibrated with fury. Each step was heavier than the last. Finally he reached his destination. He placed his hand on the panel and the door opened.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he yelled before he was even fully in the room. His lab partner was on the other side of the counter and did not even flinch upon his entrance.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm packing up. I **will** leave this project with at least a modicum of my dignity still in tact," The other alien had similarly colored scales, but was taller and thinner.

"After all this time, all of our hard work, our **life's** work dammit!" This time the shorter of the two refused to be ignored any longer. He tossed the box out of his partners hands and stood there anticipating his reaction.

"What else do you want to do? We have no money. The government has officially cut our funding. Outside investors are pulling out left and right. We can't finance this place on our own. It's over Kwide. It's time that we both accepted our fate," he looked deep into Kwide's eyes attempting to achieve a sort of understanding, but luck had not been on his side.

"We've come so far. All of this work can't be for nothing. I mean we've studied every known species in this part of the quadrant. " Kwide was searching in the eyes of his partner for some glimmer of hope, but there was nothing but defeat.

"That's just it Kwide, every _known_ species. Everyone already knows about them. No one cares. They all want new, unknown, and exciting. That's something we can't offer," he walked to where the box was tossed and put everything back in, sealing it tight.

"We've gained an abundance of insight from analyzing their emotional responses, romantic bonding, their social intricacies; our species will be able to grow and incorporate our discoveries into its culture," Kwide pleaded.

"It's not enough," his partner answered back cooly.

"What if I could get us something new and exciting?" Kwide said.

His partner set the box on the table and placed his hands on his hips in annoyance.

"What are you talking about?" He asked.

"I've been talking to one of our old contacts on the planet Zuriig," Kwide said with enthusiasm.

"Oh no! Don't tell me you've been talking to Lenek, that old drunk doesn't even know his head from his ass," he rolled his eyes and went back to packing.

"That was a long time ago. He's cleaned up since then," Kwide lied.

"Doubtful," he shook his head.

"Well you may eat your words when you hear what information he has," Kwide's smile grew.

At this, his partners interest peaked and he gave him his full attention.

"I'm listening," he said.

"You want a new species? …How about humans?" Kwide asked with delight.

"What the hell is a _human_?" he asked skeptically.

"Exactly. No one really knows. They were on a ship taken from an entirely unexplored part of the galaxy, over 70,000 lightyears away," Kwide continued.

"Great. A fascinating new species, but none of them would be willing to volunteer for this project," his partner, always on the pessimistic side of reality, continued to find holes in Kwide's plan.

"They wouldn't have to," Kwide answered, confident that he had all the answers.

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that Lenek told me about the ships need for dilithium, something we have an abundance of. We'll set a trap, on an uninhabited planet only a few lightyears from here. They'll go in for dilithium and we'll take two of their kind," he began to pace with anticipation.

"Are you insane? You know our governments policy on first contact and diplomacy. This goes against several laws. We could end up in jail," he shook his head.

"No fate is worse than failure," Kwide answered back.

At this his partner stopped. Pacing back and forth, he considered the options. After what felt like an eternity, he finally reached a decision.

"How soon could we get them here?" He asked.

Kwide smiled radiantly and beamed with joy.

"Before the end of the week," he answered.

"We would need one female and one male," the lanky alien continued to pace back and forth.

"I know,"

"And I'm not getting my hands dirty, you want to save this project so badly then you have to be the one to get the humans. If anyone find out the truth about how we acquired them, I will not take the fall for this. Is that clear?" He had stopped pacing and come very close to Kwide to stress the importance of his last sentence.

"Crystal clear. You won't regret this Clenak, I promise!"

With that Kwide left the room and grabbed his communication device. He hit a few numbers and then someone picked up on the other end.

"Lenek? It's me. The plan is a go. Set the trap for voyager. Cease communication with me and Clenak until further notice," And with that he was on his way.


	2. Chapter One

Kathryn woke up to the sound of light snoring behind her. As she came to her senses she felt his arm around her waist. Taking comfort in his embrace, her eyes closed for a few minutes more before the alarm went off again. This time it was him who woke up, nuzzling his face in her hair, and moving it off her neck where he would lay soft kisses. This had become their morning ritual for the past six months.

"Mmm. I don't want to get up. I wish I could stay here, in this moment," she said, turning to face him.

"I know, but duty calls my dear captain," Chakotay softly kissed her lips. She reciprocated and deepened the kiss.

"Kathryn if we don't get up now I don't think we ever will,"

"I know," she acknowledged the fact that neither of them had much time before they were expected on the bridge, but that didn't stop her from continuing her exploration of his lips with her own.

He started laughing lightly and pulled away.

"I'm serious Kathryn," his words sounded serious, but his smile could not be concealed.

"Oh I know you are commander; very serious," she laughed and kissed him again.

"That's it," he said, gathering her into his arms as she shrieked and laughed. He carried her to the bathroom, set her down, and turned on the shower.

"Showering together, how efficient," she said.

"Well if you want to bother me and I want to get ready, I just thought we could kill two birds with one stone," he said lowering the straps on her nightgown, kissing her neck as he did so.

"I'm bothering you?" She asked with a smirk.

"Very much, but only in the ways I enjoy being bothered," he kissed her lips.

The two of them had kept their relationship as hidden as they could, but the crew had known about their relationship for a long time. Over the past month, they had been a little less careful. Holding hands under the table in the mess hall, outwardly flirting more than usual on the bridge, and once, Tuvok had even caught them kissing in her ready room. He never mentioned it, but Kathryn knew that he had seen them.

The two of them finished showering, among other things, and got dressed. After a small breakfast they got up to leave.

"Don't forget we have a senior staff meeting in an hour," she reminded him.

"Wouldn't miss it!" he answered.

They approached the door and as it opened he held his hand out, signaling for her to exit first. She simply shook her head and mimicked the gesture. He laughed and walked out the door. She followed, smiling brightly.

* * *

"Hey, have you seen my left boot?" she called out from the bedroom.

"Check under the bed," Tom yelled back.

B'Elanna shook her head and got on all fours.

"Found it!" she yelled triumphantly, holding the boot up for him to see.

"Wonderful, now I can call off the search parties," he said sarcastically.

"Watch it helmboy, or else I'll shove this boot somewhere else, and I guarantee you won't enjoy finding it," she said as she sat on the edge of the bed to put her boot on.

"Okay! Okay, you win. What's got you in such a mood today," he asked, leaning on the wall and crossing his arms.

"Sorry, I'm a little on edge. Yesterday I left an ensign in charge for two minutes while I went to go check on some jeffries tubes. By the time I got back, everything was in chaos. We almost had to eject to warp core,"

"So that's why you were late coming in last night," he stated.

"Yeah, sorry about that. I know you had that whole special dinner thing planned out. I promise that I'll make it up to you tonight, I'll even cook," she said, getting up to meet him and putting her arms around his neck.

"You could just make it up to me right now," he said with a smirk.

"You must have lost it if you think we can afford to be late,"

"Just a suggestion," he leaned in and kissed her.

"We better get going," she made her way to the door, and right before she walked out she looked back and smiled.

"I'm looking forward to tonight," she said, and then the door closed.

Tom sat on the bed and opened the top drawer of the night stand. He pulled out a small velvet box and opened it to reveal a beautiful diamond ring.

"So am I…So am I," he smiled down and the ring, closed the box and put it back where it was.

* * *

As the last of the senior staff arrived, the meeting had officially begun.

"Alright first order of business…" Janeway started.

"We've picked up traces of dilithium on a nearby planet. Initial scans tell us that it's uninhabited. Once that is confirmed, we'll send a small away team to assess the situation and find the source of the readings. I would like to personally volunteer to go. I haven't been on an away mission in a while, it'll be good for me. Does anyone have additional questions or concerns?" She opened it up to the rest of the room.

"Interference with the planet's atmosphere makes it difficult to transport to the surface. You'll have to take the flyer. I'd like to volunteer to help you pilot it," Tom suggested.

"Very well mister Paris, have her ready within the hour," she ordered.

"Yes ma'am," he replied.

"Well if that's all, then the meeting is over. Everyone is dismissed," she stood up from her chair and said goodbye to everyone, but before she could leave she felt her hand being tugged lightly in the other direction.

"Kathryn, can we talk for a moment?" Chakotay asked.

Everyone else had left the briefing room so he felt free to use her given name.

"What is it?" She asked.

"Nothing…It's just.." He hesitated.

"I just want you to be careful. Don't get into any trouble ok?" He held her hand, rubbing his fingers softly against her knuckles.

"I'll do my best," she reached her free hand up and traced the lines of his tattoo.

"I love you," he had told her this many times, but each time it felt like the first. Her heart rate would increase and butterflies would flutter in her stomach. This was something she was unaccustomed to; feeling giddy at the mere utterance of a simple phrase repeated Every time they parted ways. It was not something she experienced with Mark, not even with Justin. This was more pure, more real, more raw…just more.

"I love you too. I promise I'll be back in time for dinner," she smiled and kissed him.

* * *

An hour had passed and it soon was time for the mission to begin.

"Ready mister Paris?" She asked.

"Aye, Captain," he replied calmly.

"Then let's go," she sat beside him and watched as they made their way to the planet.

Within twenty minutes they approached a small purple planet where the readings originated.

They began their decent to the planets surface.

* * *

There was some static, but then it became clear.

"Janeway to voyager, do you copy?" her voice greeted Chakotay's ears. He quickly tapped his combadge.

"Aye, captain we copy," he replied.

"Good, we've reached the surface of the planet and are tracking the readings of dilithium nearby," she said.

"That's good to hear captain, keep us updated on your findings," he took his seat next to the empty captains chair.

A few minutes passed in anticipatory silence. Dilithium sources were running short, and finding more would help greatly to improve the function and the quality of life aboard the ship.

"Janeway to …..ger…..re….me?" Her words were choppy and the transmission was filled with static.

"I copy you captain, but the transmission is not clear," Chakotay replied.

"We've….the readi…s, but ….. nothing here," she said.

"Captain, I can't hear you please repeat," he stood up and took a set forward.

This time there was no response there than static. He tapped his com again.

"Chakotay to Captain Janeway. Please respond,"

There was nothing.

"Captain Janeway, please respond," this time it sounded more like a plead.

Suddenly a faint sound broke through the static. It sounded like a struggle, and ended with a scream. It was Kathryn's scream, Chakotay was sure of it, just as he was sure that he had stopped breathing in that moment.

He frantically tapped his com again.

"Kathryn," he didn't care that he had slipped up and called her by her first name on the bridge, all he cared about was her safety, and hearing her voice.

Immediately he turned around to the ops station.

"Harry, any trace of their life signs?" He asked nervously.

"Negative sir, no sign of the flyer either," Harry replied.

He turned back towards the helm.

"Set a course for the planet, full warp,"

"Aye, sir," the ensign replied.

"Commander, I'm picking up the delta flyer," Harry called out.

For a moment Chakotay gained the tiniest bit of hope. He took a breath and tapped his combadge.

"Commander Chakotay to Delta Flyer, please respond,"

"Sir….It's empty," Harry said looking him in the eyes, his worry evident.

He stood there like a deer in headlights, unable to think, unable to move. Only one thought was being processed over and over again.

"Where's Kathryn?"


	3. Chapter Two

"Well done Kwide, very well done. I've never seen a species like this," Clenak said, walking around the two tables.

On each table laid Kathryn and Tom. Both were naked and strapped down. Neither was conscious. Machines were keeping track of each bodily function and collecting data on their physiology.

"I know, isn't it fantastic? One male and one female, just like we needed. It was almost too easy," Kwide stood straight up, he beamed with pride for his greatest accomplishment.

"They're incredible. The biological makeup is unlike anything I've ever studied. Hundreds of species and not one of them contained such…complex compositions. Astonishing!" Clenak was completely immersed in his new project.

"Have you placed the monitors in their systems?" Kwide asked.

"I'm just about to. I had to make a few adjustments before they were installed. We can now monitor and adjust their hormone levels to accommodate our research. All other vitals will be tracked as well."

"Impressive," Kwide mumbled.

"It will be. Once we discover what hormones are released at what times, we should be able to synthesize them to increase emotional states," Clenak could not conceal his excitement.

"I've released the news of our acquisitions to some potential investors," Kwide said.

"You did what? We aren't ready, we don't have any idea the implications.." Clenak panicked.

"Relax. They're discreet rich men who wish to learn what we find regardless of the outcomes.

Long story short, we'll be staying open for a while with what they've offered,"

"My dear Kwide, you are marvelous. We must celebrate!" Clenak said.

"Later. Now, have you figured out the proper simulation to place them in?" Kwide asked.

"I believe I have. I was analyzing a few of their memories with a probe, and I discovered that the male has an inclination towards the history of earlier centuries on his home planet. From his mind, I extracted enough information to make a plausible version. Along with that, I've used memories from their actual lives to construct two completely new and different people,"

"And you're positive that their ship will not be able to track them?" Kwide asked.

"Yes. I destroyed the badges they wore along with their uniforms. This building has an intricate security system which blocks off all biological signatures regardless of species. As long as they remain in this building we are safe,"

"Excellent. We better get started then," Kwide stated.

"My thoughts exactly," he said putting what looked like a large hypospray into both Kathryn and Tom's necks.

"Start the simulation. We'll begin as soon as the sedative wears off," Clenak ordered.

* * *

Kathryn gasped, sitting straight up. She couldn't remember the last time she got a decent nights rest. The same dream each night. She's in a sterile, white room, she's trapped on a steel table while two creatures argue over her. Her eyes are heavy and blurred from the lights. Looking to the right she can see someone. She doesn't know who he is, but she knows that she cares about his safety. Before the image becomes clear enough for her to see, she wakes up terrified. It was far too early for her to start her day, but the thought of going back to sleep was less than enticing. Instead, she simply laid back down and stared at the ceiling.

Eventually her alarm went off and she gladly got out of bed. The night before she had picked out her best outfit. After getting dressed and fixing her hair and makeup, she looked over her appearance in the mirror for the third time. She wanted to look perfect. It was the first day of her new job, the first day of her new life. She had only moved to New York City a few weeks ago with in the hopes that it would provide her with the fresh start she needed. After all she was almost forty-two years old and had never been outside Indiana. She needed to start over. Away from the boring town, away from her ex-fiancee Mark, and most importantly away from the house where her mother died.

Her shift in careers was nothing glamorous nor was it something she particularly felt important enough to brag about, but her mother always taught her that first impressions count. That was something she held on to, even after her mother passed away.

As she went into the kitchen to fix herself some coffee, but found herself wanting to cry when she realized she was out of it.

Grabbing her brief case, she ran out the door. She prayed to whomever was listening that she would be able to get a cup of coffee on the way and still make it in on time.

Unfortunately, that was not the case. The lines at every coffee shop were practically out the door. Eventually, too stubborn to forego coffee all together, she picked a line and stood in it until she got what she needed.

Now she had to run. The sidewalk was hustling and bustling with hundreds of people trying to get to their own jobs, but hers was about to start in five minutes, and she had several blocks to go. Finally, she got on the right street, if only she could have figured out the right building number.

She looked up to check each address as she passed in an attempt to find the right one, but refused to slow down or stop walking. This method of speed walking without looking did not end well.

About five steps in, she collided with someone. Looking in front of her she found that it was a man; a man who was now wearing her insanely expensive cup of coffee all over his white shirt.

Her face became red with embarrassment. He simply looked amused, even more so when he saw how mortified she was.

"Oh …I'm so sorry," she stammered.

"That's ok, it happens," he laughed it off.

"Really, I wasn't looking where I was going and I was walking too fast, and…" she continued.  
"Really it's okay. White really isn't my color anyway," he joked.

"I'm Tom and you are…" she looked up and her breath hitched. In all the excitement she hadn't noticed how attractive he was, but he had definitely noticed her.

"Late…very late. I'm so sorry but I really have to go. Here, I'll give you my name and phone number, you just send me the dry cleaning bill, okay?" She dug out a piece of paper and pen from her purse and quickly scribbled her information on it. He took it and looked it over, reading her name carefully.

"Sure…Kathryn... A beautiful name for an equally beautiful woman," he smiled flirtatiously.

She smiled, blushed, looked down, and shook her head all in the course of a few seconds. Rather than responding she walked away. It hadn't mattered, he had already seen how his comment made her react.

"I'll call you!" He shouted.

"Dry cleaning related calls only!" she shouted back.

"Of course, what other call would there be?" He chuckled and went on is way.

The rest of her day rushed by. She was assigned a cubicle desk job in the corporate sales department. It was boring and not nearly challenging enough for someone so intelligent, but the pay wasn't terrible and it had benefits.

By the time she got home, she was about ready to collapse, but one look at her answering machine and her heart was racing. She put down her things and walked over to the small table. Pressing the play button, she held her breath in anticipation. The message started.

"Hey Kathryn, it's Tom. I don't know if you remember me from this morning, I'm the guy who wore your coffee all day,"

She laughed.

"Anyway I wanted to tell you not to worry about the dry cleaning bill, it was an old shirt anyway. I was actually hoping that I could take you out for a cup of coffee that you'd get the chance to drink. It would be on me, this time figuratively speaking though, I don't have that many shirts left. Let me know. I hope to hear back from you,"

She didn't realize how much she was smiling. She knew that he was probably not the type of guy she'd usually go out with, and that he was slightly younger, but none of that deterred her. By the time the machine beeped, she picked up the phone and dialed him back. The two set a date for the next day. That night, she slept peacefully.


	4. Chapter Three

The staff meeting was in full swing. Menial and insignificant problems had already been addressed and handled, but then the elephant in the room made its presence known.

"Any updates on Captain Janeway and Lieutenant Paris' whereabouts?" Chakotay directed the question to no one in particular. Everyone in the room had been doing everything they could to find them, so he wasn't sure who would have any answers. The room was silent. Finally, Harry spoke up.

"Still no sign of their bio signatures. Nothing on the planet that shows their still on the surface. We've sent away teams down to investigate and scanned several times. All conclusions are that they are not on the planet. I've taken the liberty to scan four other planets, each a short distance from their last known location. All scans came up negative. There's nothing sir," Harry said, defeated.

Chakotay stood up, unable to keep a hold on his frustration much longer. He placed his hands on the back of the chair and stared at the middle of the table.

"There has to be something; something we've missed, some place we haven't looked. Two people cannot just disappear into thin air," Chakotay's grip on the chair became tighter. His knuckles turned white.

"Sir, if I may, the most logical decision would be to move on. Our journey must continue. To stay out here unprotected, and with little resources available, is not safe and unadvisable. It is not what the captain would want," As Tuvok finished his statement it was met with a shouts of disagreement. The room became loud as voices went from mild annoyance to full outrage. Chakotay slammed his hand on the table. As much as he wanted to scream and throw things around, he had to remain calm. He couldn't give in to his anger, he was continuously finding that harder to do seeing as the source of his peace was nowhere to be found.

"No, leaving is not an option," he stated calmly.

"I won't hear any talk of leaving them behind, especially when you know she would never leave one of us," he sat back down.

"I need everyone in here to keep their wits about them. We need to focus. I know that you're angry, I know you're worried, but we'll find them. I have faith," he said.

"I want you all to work as hard as you can; keep scanning, keep searching. If we have to stay here longer, so be it. We will not give up on them," his speech was met with nods and sad smiles, except for Tuvok, who sat stoically.

"Meeting dismissed. If anyone finds anything please notify me immediately," most everyone stood up and left.

When Chakotay looked up, he noticed that he wasn't alone. B'Elanna remained in her seat, looking down in her lap. He could see that she was struggling not to cry.

"I blew off our date the night before they left. There was a problem in engineering. I could've let someone else handle it, but I thought it had to be me, I thought I couldn't trust anyone else to do it right. When I came back to our quarters that night, I saw it. He cooked for me, set the table beautifully, even lit candles. By the time I got there, the food was cold, the candles were melted and he was asleep on the couch," she paused, her breath shaking.

"He worked so hard. I forgot to tell him that I wasn't going to make it. He tried to wait for me. He wanted that night to be special," she lifted her hands and laid them on the table, showing off a beautiful diamond ring.

"I found this in his nightstand last night. He was going to ask me to marry him…I would've said yes. I want to tell him yes, but every day that goes by without him here, makes me doubt I'll ever get the chance," By then the tears were no longer contained.

Chakotay stood up and went to her. He bent down and gave her a hug.

"I know, I know," he said reassuring her that it would be ok. She pulled away and looked at the ring again. He sighed.

"I miss Kathryn. I miss her laugh, and waking up with her in my arms. I don't feel anything when she isn't here. Almost like the part of me I need the most is lost. I'm incomplete," he said.

Although he had never officially confirmed the relationship with his captain before that moment, it did not come as a great surprise.

"It's been eight days with no sign of them anywhere. It's getting harder not to lose hope," she said, twisting the ring around in circles on her finger.

"We can't lose hope, B'Elanna. The minute we do, we lose them too," in that moment he wasn't just trying to convince her, he was convincing himself.

* * *

Kathryn was laughing. Tom loved making her laugh. They had been out every day this week, but tonight was the first time they had dinner, the first time he made his intentions clear. This was the first real and romantic date the two had been on. The other ones were more casual, dancing on the edge of something more but never quite crossing the line. They would talk and flirt and tell wild stories from their childhoods, but neither called it a date, not really.

She couldn't help but like him. He was handsome, charming, and sweet. His presence calmed her and made her feel safe and wanted.

He knew that he was falling fast. She was beautiful, intelligent, funny, and endlessly interesting. Before her was a string of women who hadn't meant much. Before her, he didn't have the desire to take things slow or be in a serious relationship, now he wasn't quite sure.

He had chosen a little Italian restaurant, it was charming and had delicious food. After a wonderful meal and a few glasses of wine, Tom offered to walk her home. They made polite conversation and he put his jacket around her when he noticed her shivering. She smiled and held his hand.

"I had a wonderful time tonight," she looked into his eyes.

"So did I. Although, I wish I had a picture of the waiters face when you tried to place your order in Italian," he laughed.

She smacked his arm playfully.

"Hey! It's been a long time since I've spoken Italian. Besides, how was I to know that the guy was from New Jersey," she laughed.

"He had no idea what you were saying!" he laughed.

"No, but maybe this could be the driving force that inspires him to learn the language!" she said triumphantly.

"Probably not," he replied with a chuckle.

"Well, this is my building," she said with a sigh.

"I guess this is goodnight," he said.

"Goodnight, "She replied.

He moved his hand and pushed her hair behind her ear. He leaned in for a kiss. Her eyes searched his face quickly before closing and giving in to the inevitable. As their lips met gently, she could feel her heart beating out of her chest. He pulled her closer to deepen the kiss. It was the feeling of her soft lips on his own and then he knew, this was who he had been waiting for, this was the girl he was going to try to be worthy of. By the time they pulled apart, both were breathless and smiling.

She handed him his jacket , and he put it back on.

"Maybe, you could…come upstairs for a little while. I have a bottle of red that I've been wanting to open," she smirked.

"Kathryn Janeway, if I didn't know any better I'd say you were trying to take advantage of me," he said sarcastically.

"Oh, I'm definitely trying to take advantage of you," she laughed.

She leaned in for another kiss, and he gladly accepted.

"Lead the way," he said, as he held the door open and ushered her inside.

He followed behind her.

* * *

"It seems to be going well. These humans are complicated creatures, aren't they?" Clenak asked rhetorically.

"Indeed," Kwide said, not really paying attention to his lab partner. His eyes were glued to the screen, which showed the two test subjects intertwined in a passionate embrace.

"Seems as though everything is going as planned," Clenak stated, taking notes on the events playing on the screen.

"Yes, yes of course," Kwide said, now completely entranced with what he was watching.

"I've been hearing things Kwide; things I'd rather not hear, such as voyagers ruthless search for their missing people," Clenak pulled his attention back.

"You worry too much. We're perfectly safe," Kwide scoffed.

"We better be," Clenak warned.

"You just focus on collecting the data, I'll ensure the safety of this project, same as I always have," Kwide said.

"I hope you do. This will be our legacy. This will put us in history books. This is our single greatest contribution to society. A society that is devoid of romance and interpersonal connection. Our people do not see the potential in finding a mate. They believe that specifically designed and hand selected insemination will populate the planet with a perfect race. Meanwhile lovers hide in the shadows unable to profess their devotion to one another in the light of day. It's been far too long, living this way. Our leaders are open to change, to being shown how much we are losing by continuing this way. With this project, our government will see. We can change everything, but we still need more proof. Proof that this is worth their time and effort. We can't stop now, not yet," Clenak said with great pride and determination.

"And we won't. All you have to do is trust me. I know how important this project is, I wont be taking any risks. Voyager won't find them. They don't even know where to look," Kwide said confidently.


	5. Chapter Four

Kathryn, still half asleep, brushed her arm against the open bed. Her eyes opened to find herself alone. She knew it had been too good to be true. No note, no goodbye; he had just up and left her alone. She should have known better. She closed her eyes again. There was no point in waking up yet.

Not five minutes later, she heard a crash and sat straight up. Pulling the white sheet around her to cover herself, she walked out of the bedroom and slowly walked to the source of the crash. She smiled and leaned against the doorway.

Upon entering her kitchen, she found a frazzled Tom Paris, kneeling on the ground cleaning up pieces of a broken plate and scrambled eggs off the ground.

"Sorry… it slipped. I had it all planned too. Breakfast in bed, I'd wake you up with a kiss and we'd eat, you'd be impressed. Now there's no eggs, I look like an idiot, and I owe you a plate," as he explained his incident, she couldn't help but laugh.

"How about, I go back in the bedroom, and you bring us some cereal. Top shelf on the left. Trust me, I'm still plenty impressed. It's the effort that counts,"

"Good idea. Let me just finish cleaning up," he said.

She walked over and kissed him, unable to stop herself. Gently grabbing one of his arms, she pulled him back towards the bedroom.

"Kathryn, what about breakfast?" he chuckled.

"I'm not actually hungry," she replied.

"What about coffee?" he teased.

"It can wait,"

"And the mess?" he asked.

"Will still be there when you come back," she answered, letting go of his arm. He stood at the door, half in the room. She made her way to the bed.

Still standing, she allowed the sheet to drop to the ground, smirking at him. That was all it took for him. He rushed towards her shutting the door behind him.

* * *

As days turned into weeks, Chakotay grew angry and depressed. He was irritable on the bridge, and avoided people in the seclusion of his quarters when he was off duty. It was suggested that he be instated as the new captain, but he quickly brushed off the recommendations. He didn't want to take her place, she'd be back. She had to come back. Eventually he took the position, but he refused the title and he wouldn't sit in her chair on the bridge. B'Elanna was in a terrible mood as well, but her concern for her friend overshadowed her own anger.

The rest of the voyager crew became resentful that their new commanding officer was barely on the edge of sanity. They grew impatient with the mission.

Chakotay walked the corridors to the mess hall. He hadn't eaten in some time and felt that Kathryn would not be happy if he didn't take care of himself. As he walked down the hallway he heard the whisperings of a conversation. Two female ensigns were gossiping about the captain. Something in him told him to listen.

"I wish he'd just give up. Everyone else has. She was a great captain and a nice woman, but she's gone, so is Paris. We should stop chasing ghosts and start taking care of the living," the brunette ensign said bitterly.

"Easier said than done. The man was head over heels in love with her. He's not going to give up easily," The blonde ensign was more sympathetic towards the Commander's feelings.

"That was never confirmed, only speculation. There's no way to know for sure," she brushed it off.

"Look in his eyes. It's there. His devotion, his slowly dying hope, his desperation. It's all there. He loved her," the golden haired ensign had a sad gleam in her eye, and understanding for lost love. Her love was several thousand lightyears away, and probably thought that she was dead.

"You're such a terrible romantic. 'It's in his eyes' honestly you sound ridiculous,"

"Ok, believe what you want. I'm just telling you what I see,"

"I don't care if he loved her or not. I just want to get home. At this rate we never will," the annoyed ensign scoffed and walked towards the mess hall, the other following slow behind.

Chakotay clenched his fists. He turned around and started walking back to his quarters. He would have rather starved then have faced the two of them in the moment. He didn't even want to think about how many other crew members shared their opinions.

An hour later in his quarters, he was reading over reports when the door chimed. B'elanna soon entered and sat next to him.

"Have you eaten today?" She didn't bother with pleasantries.

"Not yet, but I will," he replied.

She huffed in frustration.

"I'm worried about you Chakotay,"

He looked down. His heart dropped at the sight of her left hand.

"You stopped wearing the ring," he said, heartbroken that she too had given up.

"They're gone Chakotay," she whispered.

"Do you honestly believe that? Because if you do then I think you need to leave," his anger was growing.

"This isn't healthy. The crew's getting tired of searching," she yelled.

"You don't think I'm tired? You think that I want to keep going like this? She needs us, Tom needs us. If we give up on them… B'elanna I can't lose her. I won't," tears welled in his eyes.

There was a pause. She waited until he had a hold on his emotions to broach the next subject.

"I've been talking with the crew. They've agreed to one more month. If by the end of that month, there are still no signs or leads, we have to stop this and start making our way back to the Alpha Quadrant,"

He knew on some level that she was right. They were all right. It had been two months. They needed to get on with their journey, it's what she would've wanted. One month was all he had left to find them. He prayed to the spirits that one month was all it would take.

"Ok…One more month,"

She patted his shoulder. She got up to leave but stopped and turned towards him.

"It felt wrong. Wearing the ring when he never actually asked me. I didn't take it off because I gave up on him, I took it off because…when he comes back I want that night we never had. I want to see him get down on one knee. And I really don't want him to know that I went through his stuff while he was gone," she chuckled and was glad to see that her last comment got him to smile at least a little.

"You haven't given up yet?" He asked.

"One part of me knows that we're chasing after something that isn't there, but the other part of me needs to keep holding on. I don't want to give up, but as time goes on that part that's still holding on…it's getting smaller," she sighed sadly and looked into his eyes.

* * *

Tom turned on the stove and placed the pot on top. He poured the sauce in and gently stirred. Kathryn walked over to the radio and turned up the volume. He watched as she gently swayed to the music, and swore he had never seen something so beautiful. She turned to face him and smiled gently. Walking his way, she held out her hand.

"Dance with me?" She asked.

He didn't say anything, but walked right to her. Any excuse to have her in his arms was good enough for him. Soon they found their rhythm. He dipped her backwards and when he lifted her back up, he softly pressed their foreheads together. She leaned in for a kiss. As the song ended he kissed the back of her hand and went back to cooking.

"Would you mind cutting those vegetables up?" he asked, pointing toward the counter.

"Not at all," she replied.

"Thank you," he smiled.

As the sauce came to a simmer, he turned the temperature on the stove down and walked over to Kathryn. He came from behind her and wrapped his arms arms her waist. Breathing her in, he laid soft kisses wherever he could, her neck, her shoulders. Eventually, she turned around to kiss him properly. Intoxicated with the way she felt in his arms, he couldn't help but say the words. They practically fell from his lips without a single thought.

"I love you," he said.

She was shocked. Her heart was beating wildly and her face was flushed.

"You don't have to say it back I just…" he stuttered, nervous that he was moving too fast or that she didn't feel the same way.

"I love you too," she interrupted him, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.

The two stared in awe of each other for what felt like forever before finally coming together in a passionate embrace.

* * *

"This concept: Love, quite confusing is it not?" Kwide said, unable to comprehend the importance.

"No, I have to disagree with you there. It's complex, I'll give you that, but it isn't confusing, it's clarifying. It's incredible. To love someone else with all your being is the greatest gift. They prove that. Now the rest of our planet might actually agree," Clenak said, eyes twinkling with hope.

"What if they say it isn't true, that we fabricated their love for one another? That it's a product of the manipulation of hormones and memories," Kwide asked.

"We've performed this experiment on over a hundred species, not one of the pairs that were introduced in a new environment behaved like this. They copulated and formed into a unit yes, but they never expressed a deep connection nor such devotion. They never looked at one another the way these two do. We can fabricate a couple, we can synthesize hormones that make two people desire copulation, or induce emotional trust, what we cannot do is fabricate love this deeply. I've barely had to manipulate their levels at all. It's real Kwide….it's actually real" Clenak shook his head in disbelief.


	6. Chapter Five

Chakotay took anther swig of the amber liquid, losing himself in the burning sensation as it made its way down his throat. He had lost track of how much he had to drink, but he was still aware, he could still feel the aching emptiness, therefore it wasn't enough. He poured more into the glass, but before he could bring it to his lips, the doors opened.

"I didn't give you permission to come in," his words were slightly slurred.

"And I didn't give you permission to get drunk off your ass right before your girlfriend's memorial service. You need to get yourself together," she was angry. She had every right to be.

"And you need to get the hell out. What I choose to do tonight is up to me, nobody else,"

"If Kathryn could see you now…I know she'd only be disappointed," B'Elanna said sternly.

"Get the hell out," he slammed his hands on his desk.

"Fine! But the service is starting soon. The doctor is waiting on standby with a detox hypo. Call him when you're ready. Don't let her down, I expect to see you there,"

She turned around to walk away, looking back with sadness in her eyes she spoke once more before leaving.

"I could forgive you for not attending Tom's service yesterday. I hated it, but I understood…but I don't think I could ever forgive you if you miss hers, I don't think you could forgive yourself either. She needs you there. Honor her, honor your love," before he could respond, she was gone.

He stood up, glass in hand. With a gasp he threw the glass at the wall, shattering it, and fell to his knees sobbing.

After a few minutes, he composed himself. He tapped his combadge.

"Chakotay to sickbay,"

"What can I do for you commander?" The familiar voice of the EMH rang in his ears.

"B'Elanna said something about a detox hypospray,"

"Of course, I'll have to beamed to your quarters right away,"

"Thank you," he said, closing the line.

The hypospray appeared and he immediately got up, went in the bathroom, and injected it into the side of his neck. He took a moment to view his own pitiful reflection. He barely recognized it. His eyes were dark and tired, his hair had more grey, he looked thinner; sickly. Splashing water on his face, he tried to clean himself up.

The past three months had not been kind. He made a promise to the crew, but that last month had come and gone. Now they had to mourn, they had to move on, but he couldn't. There was no body, no closure, just torture. He would never feel her in his arms again, never kiss her, tell her how much he loved her. Most importantly he would never know what happened to her. The guessing is what tortured him the most. The idea that she was out there and he was allowing himself to abandon her. The idea that she may have died without meaning. Her death was no great act to save the crew, there's be no retelling of her bravery in her final moments. If she was dead it was because of a simple away mission gone wrong.

As he entered the mess hall, a feeling of much anticipated dread filled his core. Crew members of all ranks were gathered, quietly discussing their former captain. Some were crying, others were staring blankly.

In the center of the room stood her picture. Neelix had asked him to pick one out. He knew exactly the right one to choose as soon as he was asked. It was a candid shot of her from their stay on New Earth. Her long hair was down and she was in a casual pale blue dress. She was smiling, more than many crew members had ever seen her smile. She looked…happy. Not the fake happy that she'd force with a smile, it was a pure happiness, an uncontrollable force. He made her feel that, just as she made him feel it too. Many commented on how beautiful she looked in the picture, sunlight bathing her in its glow, her eyes bright and unburdened. That's how he would remember her.

A few of the crew had made speeches, some told stories of her valiant bravery, others told light hearted tales of conversations or run ins they had with their kind captain. Throughout the night he began to realize. Well over one hundred people had come to mourn and memorialize the great Captain Janeway, but he was the only person who showed up for Kathryn.

When he was asked to give a speech, he politely declined. There were no words that would adequately convey his despair. They didn't dare push him, so the subject was dropped.

After the service had finished, he went back to his quarters. He sat there alone, in the dark for almost an hour, contemplating whether he would ever be ok again…he knew the answer.

He walked over the the bottle, now nearly empty, and got another glass. Before he poured, his com chirped and he reluctantly answered. It was Harry Kim.

"Sir, I was running an initial scan of our intended course..and…" nervousness made his voice quiver.

"What is it ensign?" Chakotay asked impatiently.

"I… I found their life signs, the captain and Lieutenant. They're alive sir,"

Just like that, the glass slipped from his hand, shattering into a million little pieces.

* * *

It was early morning, the sun had yet to rise, but Tom couldn't sleep. He was too entranced with the beautiful woman lying beside him. His hand brushed against her bare arm, feeling her soft skin against the tips of his fingers.

"mmm" she moaned lightly, still very much asleep.

"Kathryn," he whispered.

"hmmm?" She asked, without opening her eyes.

"Sorry to wake you…I just wanted to ask you something,"

"What, what is it?" her eyes were opened with heavy eyelids.

"I just wanted to know if you'd like to marry me?" He whispered.

She sat up and looked at him wide-eyed.

"What did you just say?" She asked, unbelieving.

"I asked if you'd marry me. You know tie the knot, become my wife…"

"I got that part… Are you crazy?" she laughed in disbelief. Her smile was bright, even in the darkness of the room.

"If I'm crazy for loving you then yes, I'm certifiably insane," he joked.

"You're serious?" She asked.

"As serious as a heart attack," At that she laid back down and stared at the ceiling. Tom grew nervous, but he understood her shock. After two minutes in complete silence, she gave him an answer.

"Yes," she said softly, looking into his eyes.

"Yes?" He needed to check that he heard correctly.

"Yes," she repeated.

He drew her to him and immediately kissed her. She pulled away first.

"Lets do it today," she suggested.

"You want to get married today?"he laughed.

"The sooner the better. I'm not very good at the whole fiancé thing,"she said solemnly.

"We'd better go back to sleep then. After all it would be a shame if we fell asleep halfway through what's going to be the happiest day of our lives," he said, pulling her close to him.

"Thank you," she whispered, grateful that he was willing to go about this the way she wanted. She knew he'd want something more extravagant, he'd invite friends from work or maybe distant relatives, but she needed simple, she needed less intimidation. She also refused to be anyone's fiancé again after two failed attempts.

She snuggled back into his embrace. They lazily kissed one another until they drifted apart and back into the grips of unconsciousness.

When they woke up he immediately got out a suit and picked out a white dress from her closet. She fixed her hair and makeup and tried to zipper the dress. She got a little ways up, but then it refused to go any further. Her frustration amused Tom, who watched her frazzled hands and concentrated face and she tried to reach for the zipper and pull it to the top.

"Need some help?" He asked with a chuckle.

"Yes please," she said, giving up.

He walked over and pulled on the zipper.

"Seems a little tight, Kathryn," he spoke softly, not wanting to offend her.

"That's not possible, I wore this dress just last week and it fit me perfectly," she said in frustration. She knew she had been steadily gaining weight since Tom started cooking for her, and he ensured she ate three meals a day. Her body wasn't used to so much food and so little coffee, it was taking its toll.

Suddenly the zipper went all the way up.

"There, it must've been caught on something," he said, laying a kiss on her cheek. He adored how beautiful she looked in that moment; in every moment.

She nodded and stared at herself in the mirror. Her hair was elegantly pinned up and the dress outlined her soft curves. She felt confident and so lucky to have found this man. The reality that he'd be her husband in as little as three hours overwhelmed her, but looking at his face, how happy he was to be with her, it made everything ok.

"Ready?" He asked, holding out his arm for her to take.

"Always," she said, accepting.

* * *

The building began to shake violently.

The two aliens crawled underneath the nearest table.

"What the hell is going on?" Kwide asked.

"A bomb." Clenak stated calmly.

"A bomb? What the hell do you mean a bomb?" Kwide shouted.

"I mean that some people are not as open to our research as others, and they're providing us with a physical display of their negative opinions… We've been receiving threats," Clenak confessed.

"Why didn't you tell me!"

"I didn't want to worry you," Clenak braced himself as another blast hit the building.

"Worry me? It is my duty to keep the project safe. How did they even find this facility?" Kwide asked.

"Must be someone with inside knowledge,"

The shaking stopped.

"Systems in check?" Kwide held his breath and hoped that their project was still running.

"Everything seems fine. We lost power for a few seconds, but other than that we're ok. The simulation is on a separate generator system. They didn't even feel the impact,"

"Good. Clenak, if we get any more threats, I need you to tell me,"

"Alright," he nodded.

The room was a mess, things all over the floor and test tubes shattered, but their main concern was their experiment.

The two sat back in their seats and checked in on their subjects.

"Have you given any thought about what happens to these humans after we finish with them?"  
Clenak asked.

"I couldn't kill them. I can't wipe their memory again or leave them somewhere to die, that's just cruel. Then again, we can't keep them here. They may not know that their locked up, but we do." Kwide stated.

"Could we return them to their people?" Clenak asked.

"Highly unlikely. The ship is probably no where in this vicinity. We have no way of finding them or making contact," Kwide said.

"Perhaps when we finish with them in a few months, we could work on restoring bits of their memory, help them understand they come from a different time. Then we could help them find a suitable planet to settle down on," Clenak had hope that after everything these two would continue their happiness elsewhere.

"I like that idea," Kwide agreed.


	7. Chapter Six

Tom stood over the hot stove as the liquid in the pot came to a slight boil. He lightly stirred it and then poured the broth into the empty bowl that sat on the counter. Grabbing a napkin and a spoon, he made his way to the bedroom.

"I made you some soup. I know you haven't been keeping things down, but try sipping on it, you might feel better after," he placed the bowl on the nightstand and sat next to her as she was lying down.

She placed down the newspaper she'd been reading and smiled softly at her husband.

"Thank you," she took his hand and rubbed her thumb gently across his knuckles.

"I'm so sorry, I can't believe I got sick on what's supposed to be our honeymoon," she said guiltily.

"No less than a day ago I vowed to stand by you in sickness and in health, I'm not backing out of that promise. Besides I like taking care of you…when you let me,"

She chuckled.

"I wish we could've gone somewhere," she said.

"There's still time. We can go on our honeymoon whenever you're feeling better. It's not like we had anything really planned out," he said, comforting her.

"That's something we don't seem to do very well," she laughed.

"Who needs to plan life when you can live it?" He asked rhetorically.

"You sound like a postcard," she said sarcastically.

He laughed and shook his head.

Brushing her hair away, he checked her temperature by kissing her forehead.

"You don't feel warm," he commented.

"No, I don't think I had a temperature earlier either,"

"What were you looking at?" He asked, pointing towards the newspaper by her side.

"Nothing really…just houses," she admitted.

"Houses?"

"Yeah, for the future, our future," her voice grew softer, sweeter.

"Can I take a look?" He asked with a smile.

She handed him the paper. Immediately he saw that one listing had been circled several times over in red ink.

"I'm guessing you like this one?" He laughed.

"How did you know?" She asked sarcastically.

"It's perfect Kathryn. I married a woman with excellent taste,"

"And I married a man who says all the right things,"

He leaned in for a kiss, but she quickly dodged his advances.

"I don't want to get you sick!" She exclaimed.

"I don't care," he brushed it off.

He kissed her gently at first but it grew more passionate with each passing second.

"Worth it," he said as he pulled away.

"I doubt you'll be saying that when you have your head in the toilet a few days from now,"

"Kathryn, I was serious this morning, You really should go to the doctors,"

"I know, I know. I really hate going to the doctors,"

"I know you do, but it would be a shame if my lovely wife of 24 hours died of a horrible disease before we even consummated our marriage,"

Her face was torn between wanting to be horrified and wanting to laugh hysterically.

"That's so morbid! I'm not dying, I just feel like I'm dying. But if it means that much to you, your ever so lovely wife will drive herself all the way to the doctors and back just so that they can tell her what she already knows, that she has a stomach bug,"

"I can take you," he offered.

"Thank you, but I'll go by myself. No need for you to skip work again, especially if we want to buy that house," she said, pointing to the listing.

"Oh, now I see how it is now. You want me to go off and make the money so you get to spend it," he teased.

"Yes, because I was looking to marry wealthy and my first thought was to find myself a pilot instructor," she said, mocking him.

"Ouch! That one stung," he clutched his heart and winced in fake pain.

"The truth hurts my darling," she laughed.

* * *

"You're sure you saw their life signs?" Chakotay asked, looking over the ensign's shoulder.

"Yes, without a doubt two clear and strong biosignatures matching the captain and lieutenant originated from this location here. It was only for a few seconds, but I'm sure," Harry replied.

"There are a few planets there, any idea which one they're on exactly?" Chakotay said, pointing to a small group of circles on the screen.

"No, but I've narrowed it down two. We'll reach the first one in twenty-four hours, and the second is not far from the first," the screen shifted, showing the two planets to which he referred.

"Make an announcement, senior staff meeting in ten minutes," Chakotay patted the ensign on the shoulder and went on his way.

As Chakotay walked down the hall, he felt a new sense of life. He could feel every inch of his body practically floating on air. She was alive, they were hours from finding her and she'd be back in his arms soon. He never wanted to lose hope, and he had every reason to hold on. Where ever she was in that moment, he hoped that she had held on too.

By the time the senior staff was seated Chakotay entered with a smile on his face. The excitement in the air was practically tangible.

"Alright everyone, settle down. I'm sure Ensign Kim has filled you all in on his findings by now. In about twenty-four hours we'll reach the first planet. I think that B'Elanna and I should be the ones to go. Re-scanning for their biosignatures proved fruitless, therefore we're under the impression that someone or something is actively concealing them. We can't use technology to track them down, so we'll have to try asking around, gathering information the old fashioned way," he continued.

"We'll need a transport prepared and a com line will remain open for our safety. Also, please keep this information on a need to know basis, the rest of the crew will be informed once we find out more. That's all I have to say on the matter, everyone's dismissed,"

He notices that as everyone left, B'Elanna remained seated, staring blankly ahead.

Once everyone had gone, she whispered.

"I gave up on him…so easily and all this time he….I stopped believing. The whole time you never did, and I even tried to convince you…" her voice broke.

"I'm so sorry," she said, looking up at him.

"It's ok B'E you didn't know. He'll forgive you, I forgive you,"

"I don't know if I forgive myself. I'm angry, I'm so angry at myself, at everything. I don't even know what to do anymore. I shouldn't have lost hope," she said. All the grief and bitter anger she held inside these past few months had welled within her and now threatened to spill out.

"Anyone in your position…." He tried to calm her down.

"No, you were in my position but you still held on. I..I was so selfish, I just wanted to push it aside and move on. I didn't want to feel that loss anymore, but he's out there waiting for me. The whole time he was out there," She got up to walk out the door, but he grabbed onto her hand and pulled her back. Once she faced him again he sat her back down.

"He loves you. Love is about forgiveness. He'll look past this. B'Elanna, you need to be easier on yourself. You were in mourning, you thought he was dead. You can't blame yourself for wanting to move on. Now's your chance to make up for that. We'll be the ones to bring them back,"

She nodded.

"I just hope they're ok,"

"Me too,"

* * *

Kathryn walked in, closing the front door behind her. She laid her purse and keys down on the table and leaned on it for support. Tom heard the commotion and walked out of the bedroom. He noticed that her head was down and her shoulders shook slightly. She was crying, he hated seeing her cry.

"Kathryn? What's wrong?" He asked nervously.

She jumped at the sound of his voice and quickly turned to face him. Her hands quickly wiped the tears from her cheeks. He walked over and hugged her. When she pulled back, she looked into his eyes, her hand instinctually drifted towards his forehead, wanting to trace something that wasn't there. She dismissed the uneasy feeling that action gave her, and focused on the man in front of her.

"I went to the doctors today," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

"And what did he say?" He asked, now more worried than ever.

"I'm not sick," she said with a wry chuckle,

"Not sick? But…" he paused.

She gently took his hand an guided it to her stomach.

"Kathryn…are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"If you think I'm saying that I'm pregnant, then yes," she said sarcastically.

She watched vigilantly as his face slowly morphed from shock to wonder. As soon as he was decidedly happy, she felt that she could breathe a little easier. That didn't last long when in his excitement he knocked the breath out of her lungs again by picking her up and twirling her around. She laughed and yelled to be put down twice before he complied.

When she looked back into his eyes, she could see he was almost crying.

"I love you so much," he said seriously.

"I love you too," she said, hugging him and holding tight.

* * *

"Excellent. Everything is going just as we planned," Clenak stated.

"Well not exactly," Kwide confessed.

"What's that supposed to mean?" The worry in Clenak's voice was evident.

"It means that we've had the two of them in this simulation for thirteen weeks," Kwide paused.

"Yes, and.." Clenak grew impatient.

"And, looking at the data…the fetus is approximately at fifteen weeks gestation," Kwide stated.

"So it's not…" Clenak said, his mind wandering to the implications and the problems.

"No, it's not his,"

"This is a disaster!" Clenak stood straight up and began to pace back and forth.

"Not necessarily, no one needs to know the true parentage of the child. The two of them have no reason to believe it would be anyone else's. We'll ensure they don't find out," Kwide said.

Clenak shook his head and increased his speed of pacing.

"It still proves our theory," Kwide offered.

"Except for the fact that the female already had a mate, something we didn't anticipate…oh this is all complicated…very very complicated. What about after the birth, what if the child looks too different? He might reject it, reject her and then this whole project would collapse!"

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. For now, we keep going. I've recorded the data to show thirteen weeks," Kwide said nonchalantly.

"You mean falsified the data to lie through your teeth," Clenak snapped.

"Whatever it takes! Don't you get it? We get one shot if they…Clenak we can't let something as insignificant as a timeline ruin the entirety of our work,"

"Lying, stealing, kidnapping, falsifying data, paying off drunks. Look at what we've become. I hate it," Clenak said, on the verge of a breakdown.

"This will all still work, I promise," Kwide said calmly.

"Maybe we were wrong. Maybe we should stop all this," Clenak offered

"Don't say that. After everything we've been through, you can't mean that,"

"I really do, Kwide. I really do,"

With that, Clenak barged out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

* * *

"Chakotay to Voyager, we've transported down to a remote location on the surface of the planet. There seems to be a civilization not far from here. I will be leaving this line open as we discussed,"

"Aye Commander," the ensign replied.

It took the two of them less than an hour to find the nearest establishment. Upon entering, the stench of booze and something reminiscent of tobacco filled the air. Chakotay wasted no time, walking straight up to the bartender.

"Excuse me I was hoping to ask you a few questions. We're in search of our people…."

Suddenly a man in the back fell off of his seat. He was tall, and his skin was a soft shade of lavender. As he got up and slowly stumbled toward the two of them, his slurred speech became more clear.

"you're a human!" He exclaimed, pointing at Chakotay.

"Yes, what do you know of my kind?" He asked skeptically.

"I know much. I know that you come from a quadrant many lightyears from here, I know you live on a ship named Voyager, and I also know that you've come here in search of two of your own," the man admitted.

"Tell us what you know," B'Elanna's patience was all but gone. Her anger boiled over as the man laughed in her face.

"I'll tell you everything, but it's gonna cost you, pretty lady," The alien went to touch B'Elanna's face but quickly retracted his hand as she made a sound reminiscent of a growl.

Chakotay came between the two to keep B'elanna's vocal display of anger from turning into a physical one.

"Whatever it is, consider it yours," he answered.

The alien paused a moment to think.

"Pay off my tab and buy me a drink," he demanded.

"That's all?" Chakotay asked in shock.

"It's a big tab," the alien offered.

"Deal," Chakotay nodded at the bartender.

Once the three of them were seated and the alien had a new drink he began to talk.

"Alright. Your people are not on this planet, but they are on the next one. They're being held by two scientists,"

"Who are these scientists? What do they want with our people?" Chakotay asked.

"Their names are Clenak and Kwide. They experiment on different species, dozens of them. They are known for being daring with their experimental endeavors. Some call them inhumane others call them insane for performing experiments that many in the planet's government do not approve of,"

Chakotay and B'Elanna's faces revealed the horror of their thoughts. Both had jumped to conjuring images of their loved ones in immense pain, being used as guinea pigs.

"What do they do to their test subjects," B'Elanna asked, unsure if she wanted to hear the answer.

"I have no clue. I'm just told what species they need and for a decent price, I provide them with two subjects. Usually, I get volunteers, this time I had to get a little…creative," the alien said, savoring another sip from his glass.

"Where do we find them on this planet?" Chakotay asked.

"They have a large facility in the middle of the northern mountain range. It's heavily secured, practically undetectable unless you know what to look for,"

"Anything else we should know?" B'Elanna asked.

"Clenak is quite amicable, but watch out for Kwide. You don't want to get on his bad side,"

"Thanks for the warning," Chakotay said, getting up from his chair. B'Elanna followed the action and the two made their way to leave.

"No problem. For what it's worth, I hope you find them," the alien raised his glass in salute to the pair.


	8. Chapter Seven

**Author's Note:**

 **First of all I'd like to thank everyone for reading. I love hearing feedback so please let me know your thoughts by leaving a review. Also last chapter someone pointed out discrepancies with Kathryn's pregnancy (not trying to be snippy or sarcastic, but I will explain my thought process). Number one: yes the aliens use a technology to determine exact date of conception rather than our current method of measuring from the last menstrual cycle. Second: there was a comment on how it would be a little late for her to be experiencing morning sickness. While that is the case with most pregnancies, every woman is different. Some don't experience it at all, some experience it too much, but in some cases women do experience it at the end of the first trimester / right at the beginning of the second. Finally: This chapter will have discrepancies as well. I know very little about buying a house but I know that it wouldn't happen so quickly (escrow and payment and moving and blah blah). Listen, I have an image in my head and dammit I want that image to come to fruition, so indulge me a little. (That was sarcasm, again difficult to convey tone here).I write this story in between my classes when I'm frazzled and need a break and I don't always make perfect sense. I'm never mad when these things are pointed out to me, I just want people to be aware that I'm aware. Don't be afraid to ask for clarification on anything, sometimes what's in my head doesn't properly transfer on to the page. I'm done trying to make sense…on with the story! Thank you all again!**

* * *

Kathryn viewed her reflection in the full-length mirror by the window. Her hand absent-mindedly drifted towards her abdomen, caressing the precious life she carried within her. Her body had barely changed, but since finding out the news of her pregnancy she found she couldn't look at herself quite the same, not in a bad way of course. She was simply more cognizant of a slight roundness in her stomach and slow changes throughout her body. Most of all, she noted in her mind that she looked happy; she felt happy. In a very short amount of time, she had found the perfect life, but something felt off. She could tell Tom felt the same. Neither mentioned it, but they hadn't needed to. They were happy, that couldn't be denied, and they loved each other more than anything, but there was an indescribable feeling that it would all fall apart at any moment.

Before she had the chance to think about it more, her husband had entered the room. A light in his eyes appeared as he took in the picture of his beautiful wife, her hands placed over where their child grew. Walking over, he placed his hands upon hers. His finger rubbed over her wedding ring, and she stared at the matching one on his left hand.

"I love you," he whispered in her ear.

"I love you too," she replied.

"I actually have a surprise for you," he said, kissing her neck in between words.

"Oh really?" She asked in a sultry tone.

"Not that kinda surprise," he chuckled.

"Oh, then what is it?" She asked, her curiosity peaking.

"You know that house we were talking about last week?"

"What about it?" She asked.

"I made a few phone calls. Turns out the owners were eager to sell, so I made an offer. They took it,"

"You're joking!" Her face lit up with excitement.

"Nope," he smiled briefly.

"So we have a house?" She asked, still in shock.

"We have a house,"

"You're amazing," she hugged him.

"I know," he said.

She pulled away but became confused when he didn't seem quite as excited.

"You're not smiling, why aren't you smiling," she asked nervously.

"There's one catch," he said guiltily

"Oh God, what is it?" She barely wanted to know.

"It's nothing bad, not really… It's just that…the owners were in a hurry to sell. I paid them in cash so there was no waiting on funds to come in. They've already moved out and they practically said that as soon we've packed up we can move right in," he said.

"What about our lease?" She asked.

"Yeah, that's where the bad part comes in. I kinda told our landlord we wouldn't be resigning and that we wouldn't sign the month to month either. I figured we would need one or two weeks at the most to get packed and out, but we can't afford to pay for the house and the lease and buy new things for the nursery,"

"So how long do we have to move out?" She asked, terrified of the answer.

His face had guilt written all over it, but he remained silent.

"Tom…how long do we have to move out?" She yelled.

"Twenty four hours," he muttered.

"Twenty four…Tom, you're insane! Twenty-four hours to pack up our entire apartment and make our way to the house. Then there's the unpacking and the…stress, stress is very bad for expectant mothers especially mothers going through a geriatric pregnancy," she hated that word 'geriatric', she cringed as she said it.

"Relax. It's going to be fine," he said, placing his hands on her shoulders.

"Oh I'd really love to hear your definition of fine," she said through clenched teeth.

"Listen if you don't want to do this, I can call everyone back and…" he suggested, not really being serious.

"Did you at least buy boxes?" She rolled her eyes and huffed.

"Dozens, all different sizes. They're in the living room," he smiled.

"Let's get going," she shook her head.

"One more thing," he said.

"What?" She almost cried, she had enough surprises for the day.

"I bought something else, something I'd like to show you,"

He walked out of the room and brought back a bag stuffed to the brim.

"Some things…for the baby's room. I know we don't know the gender, but I bought some yellow paint because I figured it was a neutral color. And I got these cute little cut-outs of baby animals for the walls, I know you like animals. Then a mobile that matched. And best of all, a little plane; so he or she can learn about flying. I also got a few other little things but they're mostly practical things like bottles and bibs and stuff,"

It hadn't quite hit her until this moment. They were going to be parents. She was going to be a mother, and most of all Tom would be a father. Based on his excitement, he'd be a damn good one. Her eyes filled with tears and she smiled lovingly at him.

"It's perfect, everything. Thank you," she whispered.

"I didn't mean to dump all this on you," he said, sadly.  
"I know. You were just trying to make me happy, and you did. I'm stressed now, but once we get there and everything's unpacked I'll be able to relax," she cupped his face and kissed him lightly.

"You know… I could help you relax right…"

"That ship has sailed mister Paris, no time," she said, walking right past him.

"Worth a shot," he muttered following close behind her.

* * *

Chakotay tapped his foot anxiously whilst sitting in his chair in the bridge. He was waiting for an important message. This time he didn't want to take any chances. Taking a page out of Kathryn's book, he opted for amicable resolution before plan B. Plan B was his way, going in shooting first and asking later.

"I've contacted the planet's government regarding our search. They've granted us the privilege of speaking with their officials. They'll only speak to the highest ranking officer in private," reported Harry Kim.

"Good. I'll take the call in the ready room," Chakotay said, walking off the bridge.

Once he was seated behind the desk, he turned on the screen and was greeted by five regal looking aliens. They were scaled and blue-green in color. Each one wore gold in some capacity, whether a necklace or medallion.

"Greetings captain. We are the Tuluj, a powerful and intellectual race. We are aware that you come to us in need of aid. Your people are lost, are they not?" The one in the middle spoke, the others remained stoic and silent.

"That's correct. Our true captain, as well as our pilot, have been missing for approximately three months. Recently their biosignatures appeared on the surface of your planet. We were hoping you could help us retrieve them so that we could be on our way,"

"I'm afraid that is impossible. We know nothing of your kind being on our planet," the alien said emotionless.

"I spoke with someone yesterday who told me that two scientists under your payroll captured our people and are currently using them in some sort of experiment," Chakotay's anger was becoming more and more difficult to conceal.

"You have spoken to the wrong person then. I assume you speak of the renowned scientists, Kwide and Clenak. If so, I assure you that any of their test subjects are volunteers. If your people are there, then they are there of their own free will. I cannot and will not remove them from that facility until the experiment is finished. They are in the custody of those scientists until further notice. I am prohibited by law from stopping them. I apologize for the inconvenience,"

"This is no inconvenience this is an outrage. I can assure you that my people would never volunteer, we have witnesses to the fact that they were taken by force. I refuse to leave without them," Chakotay slammed his hands on the desk.

"I have no answer to give you other than the one which you have received. If you continue to bother us, I will be forced to label you as a threat. You will then be forcibly removed from this area of space. Neither of us wants that, so I suggest you move along quickly,"

The screen went blank before Chakotay could get another word in.

He huffed in anger but recollected himself. It was time for plan B.

He hit his combadge.

"Emergency senior staff meeting in the briefing room. Twenty minutes, Chakotay out,"

He got up and walked out, determined to get her back no matter the cost.

* * *

"Is that everything?" Tom asked.

"One more box I think. I'll get it," Kathryn replied.

She reached down in the truck to pick it up.

"Woah, let me get that. It's too heavy," Tom said, reaching at the same time.

"I'm fine I can get it," she brushed him off.

"Really, I think I should get it. I don't want you overworking yourself," he said.

"This entire time, all you let me carry were pillows and blankets, I can handle one box," she stepped in front in front of him to try and pick it up, but he stopped her.

"Kathryn, there's no doubt in my mind that you can handle anything, my concern is that your body might not. I need my beautiful wife to not stress and overwork herself so that our little girl can be happy and healthy and boss me around too," he said with a smile.

"A girl, huh?" She smirked.

"With her mother's feisty spirit and fiery red hair,"

"What makes you so sure?" She asked.

"Call it a hunch. A father knows his kid," he said surely.

"A hunch..so when she comes out a he…what then?" She said sarcastically.

"She won't. I know these things," he shot back.

"All right, you want the box so bad you can have it," she moved out of the way and let him have it.

"Good….You know I'm not trying to coddle you," he said.

"I know. You only do it because you care,"

"I do care, probably too much, only cause I love you," he leaned over and kissed her gently.

"I love you too. You drive me crazy sometimes, but I love you," she said and he walked away.

She closed up the truck and he made his way to the front door with Kathryn following behind.

As they crossed the threshold, he put the box down with the others and released a long-held breath.

"Home sweet home," he said with a proud smile.

He gathered her in his arms and pressed a kiss into the top of her head.

"This is where she'll grow up," he said with a chuckle of amazement.

"Or he…it still could be a he," she said quickly.

"No…it's she. Call me crazy, but I know,"

"hmmmm…. You're crazy," she said with a crooked smile.

He laughed and picked her up in his arms.

"I say we go explore our new bedroom. Mrs. Paris,"

"That is one very good idea, Mr. Paris,"

They giggled as he fumbled trying to lift her up the staircase. Finally, they made it to their room. The walls were beige and bare. All that was in the room were a few boxes and the bed. It didn't even have covers on it so Kathryn quickly threw a sheet on top before jumping on the bed. She giggled, almost uncharacteristically, and he laughed jumping to join her. It wasn't long before their light kisses in between laughter turned into a passionate embrace. He didn't notice, but something was off, slowly she was slipping away at that moment.

Those words replayed over in her head.

"This is where she'll grow up,"

That uneasy feeling had reappeared, the feeling that everything around her would crumble and fade away, and she'd be left with nothing. Not even the gentle caress of her loving husband could pull her from the dark abyss. It consumed her, it suffocated her, but she dare not speak of it. Her irrational thoughts would only worry Tom. He was not going anywhere, their child solidified everything. Still, she couldn't help feeling that this life with him, as wonderful as it was, did not truly belong to her. She ignored that feeling and focused on her husband, but she knew it couldn't be ignored for much longer. It was only a matter of time until everything she knew would be gone.


	9. Chapter Eight

**Author's note: Sorry for the sporadic posting lately. I try to keep it on a schedule for my own sake but somethings things don't always go according to schedule. Anyway I really want to thank everyone for the amazing comments, hearing what you guys think and getting your compliments and opinions really truly make my day. I hope you enjoy this chapter. It is a little longer than normal, but hopefully it doesn't drag on. Enjoy!**

* * *

"Alright, we've tried to go about this diplomatically, they give us no other alternative but to go in and get our people back the hard way," Chakotay sat straight up at the head of the table, his hands placed flat.

"Sir, all scans of the northern mountain range have come up clear of any life signs," Harry said.

"The alien in the tavern mentioned that unless you know what you're looking for, the facility would be impossible to find. Look for minuscule temperature fluctuations, distortions of any kind. Something will show up," Chakotay replied.

"Aye, sir," Harry acknowledged.

Chakotay stood up and walked behind his chair. One could easily see the cogs turning away as he thought about his next course of action.

"Alright. Once we locate the facility, we'll need to find a way through their security measures. They obviously have some sort of external shielding that we'll need to break through in order to make our way inside. Once we're in, there's going to be an unknown number of guards patrolling the halls," he said.

"I should be able to take their shields down for a few minutes if we can find some sort of access panel," B'Elanna said.

"These aliens seem to be more technologically advanced in some aspects. Their shielding system could be more complex," Tuvok offered.

"Once we find out what kind of technology we're dealing with, I'll find a way," B'Elanna said confidently.

"I shouldn't have to point out that we only have one shot at this. We can't afford any mistakes. B'Elanna and I will be the ones to complete the mission. We'll beam down once we find the facility and devise our plan," Chakotay said.

"Sir, do you think it is wise for you and Lieutenant Torres to be the ones to go on this mission. Given both of your…attachments, it might be better to send two people whose emotions will not cloud their judgments," Tuvok stated.

"You make a valid point, but I don't believe there's anyone better for the job. B'Elanna and I are emotionally involved with the Captain and Lieutenant, but I think that only means we'll be more determined and likely to work harder. My happiness, as well as B'Elanna's, depends upon the next twenty-four hours,"

* * *

Tom leaned deeper into the kiss. Limbs became tangled, bodies moved in unison. Soft sounds of pleasure filled his ears. Pulling back to look at her, he saw tears; whether of sadness or of joy, he wasn't sure.

"I love you, Kathryn," he whispered, closing his eyes and kissing away her tears.

"I love you too," her voice was familiar, but not her own.

He quickly opened his eyes to look into hers, but instead of the blue-grey of his wife, these eyes were brown and deep. Her hair matched her eyes in color and was soft and wavy. Most notable were the distinct ridges along her forehead. He didn't know her name, but he did know her, that he was sure of.

"Tom," She called out.

"Tom?" Her voice began to change.

"Tom! Wake up!" The scenery melted away, as her beautiful face faded from view. He opened his eyes.

"Hmmm?" He groaned, still groggy.

"You were making noises. What were you dreaming about?" She asked.

"You," he said. He knew it wasn't completely a lie, it was about her…at first.

"Mmm. I take it you were enjoying that dream," she suggested.

"It was nothing compared to the real thing, trust me," he said leaning in for a kiss.

"Maybe we'll have to do a comparison," she said flirtatiously.

"I think we will," he chuckled.

It was Sunday mornings like this which Kathryn loved the most. They'd sleep in, spend most of the day in bed, and sometimes go out to eat dinner. A while later they lay back down, she was wrapped tightly in his arms. They appreciated small moments like these: the little ones that you'd miss if you blink.

"Are you happy?" He asked, there was a hint of concern mixed with genuine curiosity.

"Of course I am," she answered almost too quickly.

"No, really Kathryn," he pushed.

"Really, Tom. I'm happy. I honestly don't remember a time where I was happier. I have an incredible husband, a beautiful house, and a baby on the way. There's nothing I could want for,"

"What about you? Are you happy?" She asked.

"I don't think happiness quite covers it. I'm more than just happy," he said.

She leaned in and kissed him.

"I love you," she said

"I love you too," he replied.

"Although I'm not so happy that I have to go into work today," he said with a look of annoyance.

"You do? But you always take weekends off," she was disappointed.

"I know, but I'm covering for someone else. I'll only be a few hours, then we can go out for dinner, see what's around,"

"Alright. At least it will give me some time to do things around the house, and you won't be here to distract me,"

"Just promise you won't overdo it," he said.

"I promise. I plan on unpacking a few boxes and maybe painting a room or two,"

"By that you mean, try and do everything yourself so that its all in the order that you like it to be in,"

"Oh you know me so well," she said sarcastically.

"I'd hope so by now. I am serious. No moving big furniture, no trying to lift heavy boxes, and listen to your body. When you're tired…rest,"

"You sound like my mother, always telling me what to do," she mumbled.

He gave a look that said he meant it, and she rolled her eyes.

"Fine, I promise. I'll let you do all the heavy lifting," she gave up.

"Thank you. I'd better get ready to go,"

After showering and getting dressed, Tom kissed his wife goodbye at the front door, then crouched down and kissed her, barely rounded, stomach to say goodbye to his child.

* * *

"You were right sir, there's a slight temperature fluctuation near the bottom of the largest mountain. Not enough to set off any alarms, but it's definitely there," Harry Kim said proudly.

"Good work ensign," Chakotay said, trying to conceal his excitement as they got closer and closer to bringing his love back to him.

"I've taken the liberty to do some research on the Tuluj and their technology. I believe that there should be some sort of panel or box that I can use to shut down the shielding for fifteen minutes, but I'm not sure how long it would be before they would be able to detect and fix the problem. Here's my analysis," B'Elanna handed the padd to Chakotay.

"Excellent. If that's everything, then we should be ready to beam down within the hour. Everyone's dismissed,"

Each member of the senior staff left the room and got to work. The news of the captain and lieutenant's return spread like wildfire amongst the rest of the crew. The anticipation was palpable. Chakotay truly thought that it was the longest hour of his life, but finally, it was time.

The two of them beamed down from transporter room one. They arrived as close to the location as they could, but it was still a short distance away. The snow was thick and pale blue rather than earth's white. Instead of the expected crunch, with each step, the snow sounded more like goo.

It was difficult to maneuver around in, but that didn't slow either of them down. After twenty minutes of navigating their way through the snow, they found the origin of the temperature fluctuation.

"This is it," she said.

"Where's the panel?" He asked, confused.

"It should be on the ground near the left of the structure,"

"Alright, then I suggest we start digging," he said making his way over and crouching down to movie the snow with his hands.

The snow on this planet may have been different from earth's, but one thing remained the same, it was freezing cold. The two dug as quickly as they could, their hands becoming stiff and painful even with gloves. Chakotay went to dig again, but this time his hand hit something solid.

"I think I've got it," he said.

They quickly cleared the snow around it until she was able to pry it open and start working. There was a distinct buzzing sound which ceased.

"We have to go now, we don't know how much time we'll have," she said.

"Where is the damn building?" He asked in frustration.

B'Elanna didn't answer him but simply walked forward. She held her hand out and grazed the air, this action sent some sort of purple electrical current waving. She looked back and smiled.

"Come on!' She said, walking through and disappearing into the invisible structure.

He shook his head and followed her.

Once inside, they were faced with a long hallway. The walls were black, a stark contrast to the rooms along the hall which were pure white. On each door were words written in gray, but neither knew what they said. Using a translator, B'Elanna looked quickly and carefully for any room which might indicate where the two were being held.

They stopped when they heard yelling coming from further down the hall. Their universal translators picked up the conversation, allowing them to hear and understand what was being said.

"That's enough Kwide! I've had enough, I'm done. We need to right our wrongs. These humans should go back to their people," Clenak yelled.

"Their people are long gone Clenak! What don't you understand," Kwide shot back.

"Yet another lie that falls from your mouth. I have friends in high places too. Friends that tell me that Voyager is still here, they were in our planet's orbit yesterday looking for their people. I've decided to send them a message tonight," Clenak stated.

"You wouldn't dare," Kwide shouted, his anger seeping through his words.

"I would. What we've done, cannot be undone, but we can try to make up for it now,"

Chakotay and B'Elanna slowly followed the sounds of the voices.

"After everything we've been through…" Kwide started but was interrupted.

"After everything we've been through your lucky that I'm not going straight the council with this. We should be in jail, helping these people is the least we can do," Clenak said.

"I won't let you do this,"

"There's nothing you can say or do to stop me, I've made up my mind,"

Kwide pulled a weapon from his pocket.

"So this is how it ends? You're going to kill me?" Clenak asked.

"I don't want to. I really don't want to do this Clenak, but if you force me I will,"

"I don't think you have it in you. I don't believe you,"

Clenak went to walk past him but stopped abruptly at the sound of a weapon firing. He looked down to see his own deep-orange blood quickly soaking through his clothes from a wound in his abdomen. He gasped for air and looked into Kwide's eyes with disbelief and heartbreak at the ultimate betrayal by his closest friend. As Clenak collapsed on the ground Kwide fell to his knees and released a sob.

Chakotay and B'Elanna quickly entered the room. B'Elanna fired her phaser without hesitation, stunning Kwide sending him to the ground.

Chakotay ran over to Clenak, who was struggling with his final breaths.

"Where are they?" He asked.

"Two doors down. Ss…Simulation… room…one," he muttered before the light left his eyes and his body went limp.

"Thank you," Chakotay whispered.

The two of them walked down and entered the simulation room.

Upon entering, it was apparent that the first part of the room was intended for the purpose of observation. There was a large screen, which was off at the moment, and a control panel with what seemed like three hundred buttons. In the corner were heart monitors, displaying two normal human heart rates and one which beat at a much more rapid pace.

"Why are there three heart rates being monitored?" B'Elanna asked.

"Maybe Tom and Kathryn aren't the only ones in there," he answered, assuming another alien was taking part in the simulation.

B'Elanna walked over to the panel and pressed a large blue button. Suddenly the screen came to life. He looked over at B'Elanna, but his attention was quickly taken away by the sound coming from the screen.

"Kathryn," he whispered, his heart swelling.

She was in a small room with a bucket of yellow paint. As she stood on the step-stool and painted the wall in front of her, she was singing an old love song from the late twentieth century.

Chakotay chuckled. She sang slightly out of tune, but he knew that he would never hear anything more beautiful. She was dressed in overalls and had her hair pulled back into a ponytail.

Then it was B'Elanna's turn to gaze in awe.

"Kathryn? Where are you" Tom's voice rang clear and B'Elanna couldn't help but gasp.

"In here," Kathryn yelled.

"Where's here?" He asked sarcastically.

"Obviously not there!" She answered, matching his sarcastic tone.

Chakotay and B'Elanna were entranced with the scene before them.

Eventually, Tom found her and smiled a the room which was now almost completely sunshine yellow.

"Looks great," he said.

"Thank you,"

"Why don't you take a break, get something to eat," he suggested.

"I can't there's too much to do around here. I'll take a break later,"

He walked over to her. Turning her around he, brushed away a strand of hair that had come loose.

"You could take a break later, but then those brownies that I bought for you wouldn't be warm anymore,"

"Brownies?" She said, enticed by her favorite treat.

"Carmel brownies, your favorite,"

"Maybe five minutes wouldn't hurt," she conceded.

"That's what I thought," he laughed.

She huffed and turned around, looking at the room for a minute. As she leaned back, his hands wrapped around her and caressed her stomach.

"To think that this will be his or her room," she said in amazement.

"Have you thought of any names?" He asked.

"Not yet, I want to see her first, or him. We really shouldn't plan so much on having a girl, it could be a boy,"

He turned her around and kissed her lips.

"I don't care what this baby turns out to be, as long as he or she is happy and healthy, then everything will be perfect,"

She smiled brightly, leaned in and kissed him again.

"Turn it off," Chakotay said angrily.

B'Elanna hit the button again, turning the screen black.

The shock and pain on their faces were blatant. Neither of them knew what to make of what they'd witnessed.

"How do we get them out of the program?" He asked, focusing on the task at hand, rather than his emotions at that moment.

After B'Elanna hit a few buttons she looked at him and nodded.

He walked towards the large door and opened it. When he walked through he saw the two of them lying on the ground, passed out cold, their hands intertwined. Their surroundings shimmered away, their clothing turned into medical garb, and the rings on their left hands faded into nothingness.

"It looks like the sequence that ends the simulation, sends a harmless tranquilizer through their systems," she said.

Chakotay looked at Kathrynn's body for a moment before taking her into his arms.

"With the shields down, we should be able to communicate with Voyager,"

He nodded and tapped his comm.

"Chakotay to Voyager, four to beam up directly to sickbay,"

A single tear fell down B'Elanna's cheek. There was no longer a question about the heart beats. One was Kathryn's, one was Tom's, and the third…the third heartbeat was the final blow that nearly stopped her own.

Without another word, the four of them shimmered away, back to the ship they once all called home.


	10. Chapter Nine

His eyes were heavy; barely opened. All he was able to see was the color white, objects slowly came into focus around him. He heard noises coming from the other side of the room. It took his ears more than a minute to recognize that the sounds he was hearing were coming from his wife. Her petrified scream was what finally brought him to full consciousness.

"Get away! Get away from me!" She screamed, her arms moving spastically in hysterical motions.

It took Tom all of two seconds to be at her side, stepping in front of her to shield and protect her from whoever was in the room. She clung to him, and he could feel her shaking.

"Who the hell are you and where have you taken us," he attempted to put on a strong and intimidating front, but the quiver in his voice gave his fear away.

The doctor was more than unamused. Without a word, he hit his commbadge.

"Sickbay to Commander Chakotay. The patients are awake," he said.

"I'll be right there, just let me contact B'Elanna," Chakotay replied.

The doctor shifted his attention back to the two figures cowering near the edge of the biobed.

"Mr. Paris, I assure you that I mean you no harm. Same goes for the captain, now would you please.."

"How do you know my name?…captain? What captain," Tom asked in utter confusion.

For once in his existence, the doctor had been at a loss for words. He expected hysterics, anticipated them being wound up and disoriented, but he did not expect memory loss.

Initial scans hadn't even picked up any damage or alteration to the hippocampus nor any other area of the limbic system related to memory. He needed more tests and more time, but without sedation, neither would be willing.

Slowly he walked up to Tom.

"Mr. Paris, I'll explain everything if you'd just follow me,"

"Not until you tell me exactly what's going on. I'm not leaving my wife,"

The doctor had to contain his shock and keep his jaw from dropping.

"Al..alright, you don't have to leave her for long, just come with…" before he finished and before Paris had the chance to react, the doctor sprung at him. Grabbing a hypo containing a sedative the doctor quickly injected it into Tom's neck. Kathryn screamed and pushed the doctor back. She knelt to the ground as his body went limp, and checked him over for a pulse. Breathing a little easier as she found one, she lost control and began to cry. She carefully placed his head on the ground and stood to face the doctor who was quite taken aback by the whole scene.

"What did you give him?" She shouted at him.

Without answering her, he injected her neck with another hypospray.

"A mild sedative, same as I'm giving you." He said calmly.

With the hiss of the hypo, came the hiss of the doors opening. Chakotay witnessed Kathryn's knees buckle and rushed to take her from the doctor's arms. B'Elanna ran to Tom's side and helped the doctor move him to the nearest biobed.

Chakotay looked at Kathryn, laying her down comfortably.

Her eyes were glazing over and rolling back. He looked at her with such affection. Something in her told her that she knew this man, that she was safe with him, but she had no idea why. She couldn't help but bring her hand up to trace the tattoo above his brow. It was such a familiar act, one that she hadn't the time to analyze before unwillingly slipping into the blackness.

* * *

"Complete memory loss?" B'Elanna asked. She hadn't paid much attention to the doctor's full explanation, but that part drew her attention.

"Well, it seems that they remember bits and pieces of who they are. They know their own names, they know small details about their family, but nothing of their time on Voyager. They don't even think they're from this century," the doctor explained.

Chakotay took a deep breath. It was better than his initial thought that she completely disregarded their love for one another and started a life with someone else. This was less of a choice, she didn't remember him.

"How did these…aliens achieve this? Is there any permanent damage?" Chakotay asked.

"That is another interesting thing. I wasn't able to see any damage or changes to their brains. Everything is intact. However they achieved this, it must have a complex process. Hopefully, it was a process that I will be able to reverse with time and research,"

"What do we do until then? We can't keep them under sedation for an unknown amount of time," B'Elanna pointed out.

"We have two options. We can attempt to wake them and calmly explain the situation, but if they continue to display violent outbreaks or place anyone or themselves in more danger that leaves option two," said the doctor.

"What exactly is option two," Chakotay asked nervously.

"We can place them both in stasis indefinitely until I can find a way to bring their memories back," he replied.

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that," B'Elanna said.

"Other than their memories, how are they…health wise?" Chakotay asked.

"Both the Captain and Lieutenant are in perfect health. Scans showed no signs of any mistreatment, malnourishment, or anything that we could attribute to being held in captivity for such a long duration,"

"And….the baby?" Chakotay asked, remembering that large roadblock that now stood between him being with the woman he loved.

"The Captain's pregnancy is perfectly healthy. I only performed a basic scan, but I plan to complete more extensive testing soon. I'll be able to tell the gender, genetic makeup, and how far along she is exactly from the date of conception. Unfortunately, I won't be able to share the results of those tests without the Captain's clear consent," the doctor continued.

"Understood," Chakotay said.

"Can we…try and talk to them? Maybe seeing us or walking around the ship might jog their memory," B'Elanna suggested.

"It is possible. We can try in the morning. I'd rather not risk another episode like the one earlier," the doctor replied.

"Okay," she nodded.

"I know that this is going to be difficult no matter what happens, but statistically speaking…they've come back from far worse," the doctor said in an attempt to be comforting.

* * *

The night was filled with tossing and turning. No matter how much he tried, Chakotay couldn't turn off his mind. Thoughts of a future, having to watch the love of his life find happiness with another man would be hell, but worst of all why did it have to be Tom Paris? This was a man who had lost his respect and became an enemy. The past few years he had seen a change in Tom, a change that earned his trust and friendship, but now what? That friendship will most likely be long gone. Kathryn will marry Tom, bare his children, grow old with him. The life Chakotay had envisioned with Kathryn no longer existed.

Then again, she could choose him. Carrying a mans child did not equal love after all. Then came the thought about how he would feel being with Kathryn and helping to raise a child that wasn't his. Those thoughts quickly dissipated, he knew that if Kathryn wanted to be with him, he would have no choice but to say yes. She held his heart, nothing else mattered.

A small voice, barely noticeable begged to ask whether there was a chance that the child could be his. He didn't listen to it, he knew there was no chance. She had been on boosters when they were last together. It was a lovely thought though. A beautiful child, part of him and part of Kathryn. He imagined a little boy with brown hair and brown eyes, the perfect image of his father, with the intelligence and humor of his mother. Maybe a little girl instead, Kathryn's auburn hair and his brown eyes, the girl would have her mothers smile and her fathers soft, calming personality, but oh would she be stubborn. His smile faded, these were just dreams. He needed to focus on reality, hopefully, a reality where he can be with his love.

The next morning, he decided to stop by sickbay before his shift. Upon entering, his ears were greeted with the sound of the doctor singing a sweet aria, therefore not realizing someone had come in.

Chakotay stood and awkwardly cleared his throat. The doctor quickly turned around and put down the medical instruments he had been cleaning.

"Oh…Commander, I hadn't heard you come in,"

"I gathered as much," Chakotay said.

"Well, you will be happy to know that I think I've figured out a way to reverse the memory loss. I haven't deactivated myself since you left yesterday, I spent hours analyzing their brain chemistry, chemical and hormonal imbalances, scrutinizing every scan to detect any sort of damage. I finally found that whatever was used was most definitely a chemical compound. I've injects both patients with something that should help bring their memories back. It won't be all at once, but it should work," he said proudly.

"That's fantastic. I should go tell B'Elanna,"

"No need, she's been by mister Paris's bedside for almost two hours," the doctor said, pointing to the corner of the room where Tom was located.

He nodded and walked behind the curtain where Tom was located. The scene he found made his heart ache. She looked at him with such sadness and love in her eyes. Her hand slowly brushed his hair away.

"Did you hear the good news?"

"Yeah…I heard," she replied glumly.

"Why don't you sound happy?"

"I am happy. I'm happy that he's going to be ok. It's just….when they get their memories back there's every chance that…. That they'll choose to be with each other over us….that he'll choose her over me,"

"I have the same fear. All night I was up thinking about what's going to happen. No matter what, I've decided to be there for Kathryn. I want to see her happy, and I think that she'll find that happiness with me. If she decides otherwise, I'll respect that,"

"You'd just standby?….you'd give up?"

"If that's what she wants then yes. I'm not going to stand in her way. I'm going to hold on to hope that when she remembers me…when she remembers what we had together, nothing else can compare,"

"I have the same hope, but you saw what I saw. The way they looked at each other, the way they kissed. They were happy; and now, she's…she's giving him the chance to be a father, what he's always wanted. I was hesitant, I never imagined myself as a wife, much less a mother, but for him…I would have done it all,"

"You speak as if it's all in the past. For three months we thought they were dead. Now they've come back to us against all odds they are still here and as long as that is true, so is the love you shared with Tom, and the love I shared with Kathryn,"

"You're right. I should give him more credit, give our relationship more credit,"

"I'll be back, I'm going to go sit with Kathryn for a while,"

She nodded and directed her attention back to her love, still sleeping soundly.

Chakotay walked to the other side of the room. There she was. His love, his life, his everything. Her hair was longer and she wasn't as thin. That was in no way a bad thing. He was always telling her she needed to eat more. He looked at her stomach. It wasn't large, but it was rounded and stuck out slightly. One could easily tell that it was due to pregnancy, but it was also easy to see she wasn't very far along. He placed his hand gently upon her stomach.

She felt him, his hands gentle and loving. Her first thought was that it was Tom, but this was different, less daring. This was a loving touch that was hesitant to be there at all, and that was not Tom. Her eyes fluttered open, focusing on the man in front of her. A perfect stranger, but not one to cause alarm. She couldn't explain how she knew, only that there was the feeling that with this man, she would never be in danger.

"Kathryn?" He asked gently, taking her hand.

She slowly sat up, keeping her eyes locked on his. Lifting her hand, she cupped his cheek. She searched and searched in her mind for something, anything that would tell her how she knew him, why she felt so safe in his company. All she could find in the depths of her mind was a single word, perhaps a name.

"Chakotay," And that was it, that had to have been his name. His eyes lit up and tears spilled over.

"Kathryn… do you remember me?" He asked.

"Not everything, I just know that I know you, I know that I'm ok…with you here,"

He tried to hold back, to calm the urge to take her in his arms and kiss her like he's dreamt of kissing her for the past three months. Eventually, the temptation was far too great. He brushed her hair from her face and brought his lips to hers. He could sense her hesitation, but that quickly went away as soon as lips met and eyes closed.

Images flashed in her mind. This wasn't the first time she had kissed him. Somewhere called New Earth had been the location of their first kiss. He told her a story….an angry warrior longing for peace. She was his peace. She fought her desire to be with him, but eventually, she gave in. He loved her so much, and she loved him more than anything. Many months later it happened again on a ship, her ship…Voyager. She was the captain, he was her first officer. Tom…he was only a friend, her pilot. They were all lost in the Delta quadrant….because of a decision she had made. She remembered. Not everything, but it was coming back.

She pulled away from him with a gasp.

"I'm sorry…I shouldn't have," he started.

"No, no it's ok. I …I remember…I remember you….us…I remember us," she said slowly.

His smile grew big and bright and he looked at her as if she were the only thing that ever gave his life meaning. He wrapped her in his arms and placed kisses in her hair, breathing her in, thanking the spirits for bringing her back to him.

"I love you," he said.

"I love you too," she cried, knowing deep in her soul that it was the truth.

He pulled back and kissed her once more. They were so lost in one another that they hadn't heard the commotion coming from the other side of the room.

"Tom! Stop! Please just lay back down, let me explain!" B'Elanna yelled.

"I said get away!" He yelled.

There was a clatter as he tossed a tray over and ran to find his wife. All came to a stop when he pulled back the curtain which his wife was behind to find her in a passionate embrace with another man. Anger, sadness, betrayal, and fear were just a few of the emotions which raced through him.

"Kathryn?" His voice cracked.

She immediately pulled away in shock. She didn't know what to say.

"Tom, I…" was all she could manage to get out before the doctor came over with another hypo, injecting it into Tom's neck. The doctor and B'Elanna managed to catch him before he hit the ground and moved him back over to the biobed.

Once Tom was safely back on the biobed, the doctor made his way over to Kathryn and Chakotay.

She was crying, resting her head in his shoulder as he soothed her.

"Commander?" He called hesitantly.

"Sorry doctor, we were just…"

"It's quite alright, but I should check on my patient,"

"Of course," he said, squeezing her hand before moving over to let the doctor look at her.

"It's good to see you, doctor," she said with a sad smile.

"And you too…captain. I see your memory is coming back, thankfully my serum is doing its job,"

"I suppose so. Bits and pieces are coming to me, but everything is making much more sense,"

"Excellent,"

"Why isn't it working for Tom?" she asked.

"Every time he wakes, he becomes fixated on finding you. He's too hysterical to try and make any sense of anything,"

She paused.

"When…can I go back to my quarters,"

"I'd like to run a few more tests, brief you on the findings of my initial testing, and discuss your inevitable return to duty. It's will be a few hours, but perhaps the commander would be willing to escort you back to your quarters once his shift is finished,"

"Of course. Speaking of my shift, I have to get going. I'll see you later," he said.

"Goodbye," she said with a slight smile.

He walked out the door, looking back once more as to capture the image of her. Her hands drifted towards her stomach, remembering quickly about the life that resided there.

"So, captain I'd like to discuss.."

"My baby…is my baby ok?" She asked quickly.

"That's exactly what I was going to discuss with you. Your baby is just fine. I can show you the heartbeat if you'd like,"

"Yes, I'd like that very much,"

After he set up the equipment, he pressed a few buttons and then it started. A fast heartbeat rang in her ears and brought tears to her eyes.

"And here is your baby,"

He pulled up a scan of her child moving inside of her. It was no larger than an apple, but it was her baby and it was incredible.

She was speechless.

"I can tell you the gender if you'd like," he offered.

"She's a girl," she whispered.

"uhh…yes actually. How did you…"

"I didn't, Tom…he always said it was a girl,"

"Ahh, yes. That is another thing I'd like to talk to you about, the paternity of your daughter,"

"Paternity? What do you mean?"

"As I was running tests, I noticed that the date of conception occurred before you went missing,"

"So my daughter…it isn't Tom's…it's Chakotay's?"

"Yes, it would appear so,"

"Does he know?"

"No, doctor-patient confidentiality prohibited me from divulging that information,"

"Good…I mean, I want to be the one to tell him,"

"I thought as much," he said.

He paused and admired how taken aback she was with the image of her child.

"I think that I'm the first in saying this, but congratulations. That goes both for you and the Commander," he said, turning off the machines.

"Thank you," she said absent-mindedly as her head began to spin with everything that had occurred.

"May I.. may I see Tom?"

"Of course, I'll give you a few minutes while I prepare to run some more neural scans,"

She walked over and saw B'Elanna still sitting there, her eyes filled with tears. She looked up with disdain and hurt in her eyes.

"Why?" B'Elanna whispered.

"What?" Kathryn asked.

"Why do you remember, and he doesn't. He looked at me like a stranger, like someone who was going to hurt him. I tried to calm him down…."

"I don't know B'Elanna, I don't know,"

"It isn't fair," tears ran down her cheeks.

"No…it isn't," Kathryn said.

"Do you love him?" B'Elanna whispered.

"What?"

"Do. You. Love. Him?" The anger was blatant in her voice.

"Y..yes…yes, I love him," she admitted.

"Do you want to be with him?" B'Elanna asked, unsure if she even wanted to hear the answer.

"I don't know… I don't know what I want. This all happened so suddenly, I need time to think,"

"You do that," B'Elanna said bitterly.

She got up and walked away without another word.


	11. Chapter Ten

"Tom?" she called out.

He loved waking up to her voice in the morning. He loved everything about his wife.

"Tom? It's Kathryn," she said softly. He could feel her hand gently touching his cheek.

"Kathryn," he whispered.

His eyes slowly opened but were greeted with a harsher light than that which would usually come from the window. Suddenly it came back to him, the fact that he didn't know _where_ he was. Every time he woke up all that had mattered was finding Kathryn. Upon opening his eyes he realized that he didn't have to, she was sitting right in from of him.

"Tom, I'm going to ask you to please stay calm," she said evenly.

"Kathryn where are we?"

"Somewhere safe, I promise you,"

Suddenly he remembered something else about the last time he had been awake.

"Who the hell was that guy Kathryn? Why was he…why were you kissing him?" his anger coated each word.

"I know that it's confusing, but there's so much that needs to be explained. We'll talk about that later, first we need to talk about Voyager,"

"Voyager?" he asked.

"The ship, our ship,"

"What are you talking about a ship, are we somewhere in the ocean. This doesn't look much like a ship," he looked around frantically for some sort of port or anything in the structure of the room that could be attributed to a ship or submarine. The ocean was his first love, he knew ships, this was not a ship.

"No, we…are not in any ocean. I know this is going to sound crazy, but…this is not a ship designed for water, it is one designed to explore space,"

"Space...but," he stuttered in confusion.

"It is not the year 2000… it is 2374. We are in the 24th century, not the 21st,"

"Kathryn, what the hell are you talking about? Who took us, and why?" he was growing impatient with such nonsense.

"The people on this ship rescued us. We had been taken…three months ago by an alien race named the Tuluj. I..I don't know the specifics of what was done to us, only that our memory had been erased. We were placed in a simulation, none of what we experienced in the past three months was real,"

"What you're saying…it sounds.."

"Insane?" she stole the word right out of his mouth.

"Well, the doctor here has given us a serum which helped me regain some of my memories. Details remain fuzzy. Names, faces, events which were significant and those which were not, seem….faded. In time I will have it all back, and so will you," she said positively.

"How?"

"As I said, the serum is doing its job, we can only…help it along by going through and experiencing things like they were before,"

She paused and took a deep breath.

"The man..from before. He and I had been…involved before we were taken. The two of us had been caught up in seeing one another again that…it just happened. I'm so sorry," she said guiltily.

"It's ok," his voice was thick, he was still angry, but he knew she would never intentionally hurt him nor jeopardize their relationship.

"The woman in here earlier…B'Elanna I think her name was. Were she and I.." he tried to say it.

"Yes. The two of you were together for a while before everything," she finished for him.

"I see," he muttered.

"It's overwhelming I know, but there's someone here who'd like to talk to you," she said happily.

The curtain was pulled back to reveal Harry Kim with a gentle, albeit slightly awkward smile.

"His name is Harry Kim, and he's your best friend. You'll be completely safe with him," she said to reassure him.

"I thought maybe we'd take a walk around the ship. You could see some of your friends, your quarters, or visit a holoprogram," Harry said.

"Tom, if you need me for any reason, hit this button and say 'Paris to Janeway'. I'll answer immediately I promise," she said, handing him his commbadge.

"Where are you going?"

"To do the same. Explore the ship, see faces I haven't seen in three months,"

"So why can't we go together?" Tom asked, nervous to be apart from her.

"Because you need to focus on yourself, and your past. I think I might distract you too much," she answered.

He nodded.

"Oh and here are some of your clothes. I didn't think you'd wanna walk around in a sickbay gown," Harry placed them next to Tom on the biobed.

"Thank you," Tom said.

"I'll see you in a little while. Enjoy your time with Harry," Kathryn smiled at Harry and then gave Tom a loving glance.

He sat up as she squeezed his hand to say a silent goodbye. She turned to walk away, but he pulled her back to him. She looked confused for a second before he pulled her into a searing kiss, with no care that Harry was still in the room nearly on the verge of passing out.

Kathryn pulled back and said goodbye.

"I love you," he whispered.

"I love you too,"

A knot grew in his stomach as he heard the hesitation in her voice.

She walked right passed ensign Kim who was white as a sheet and terribly confused.

"Goodbye, mister Kim," she managed not to laugh at his expression.

"C….Captain," he managed to utter.

As the doors hissed closed, Harry managed to ask a question.

"So..you and…and the cap…Kath…the captain… are…are…"

"The word is married,"

Harry's eyes grew wide. He was expecting him to say seeing each other or involved, but not married.

"I'm gonna go get changed, then you are gonna show me a place around here where I can find a decent drink,"

"oh...ok,"

Tom grew quite amused at Harry's reaction and couldn't help but to push it a little bit further.

"After all, a celebration is long overdue,"

"Celebration? For what, you coming back?" Harry said, slowly regaining his composure.

"No, no. A celebration of the fact that Kathryn and I are going to be parents. She's already about three months along," Tom said.

Harry's eyes practically popped out of his head. Tom chuckled and walked past him, patting him on the shoulder. He went to get changed behind a different curtain.

"Nobody tells me anything anymore," Harry muttered, shaking his head.

* * *

"Kathryn?"

She turned around to see Chakotay smiling brightly.

"Hi...I was just on my way to my quarters, but…I seem to have forgotten where they are exactly," she said, slightly embarrassed.

"Actually you just passed them, I can take you there if you'd like," he said.

"Please," she accepted.

The two of them walked in a comfortable silence until they reached her door and entered.

She took a few steps in and paused, taking in the room with her eyes.

"It's eerie. Almost like a dream or a profound sense of deja vu,"

"Well, maybe you'd like to look through some pictures. My shift just ended so I have plenty of free time to sit with you,"

"I was supposed to wait for you to take me to my quarters, I'm sorry. I just got a little stir crazy sitting around sickbay all day," she said.

"Understandable, you never were fond of the place," he chuckled.

"No, I never was,"

Chakotay walked over to the replicator and ordered a tea for himself, but a coffee for Kathryn. He made sure that it was decaf, even though she hated the stuff, but she wasn't allowed too much caffeine during her pregnancy. After handing her the drink and setting his down he disappeared in her bedroom for a moment, coming back with a collection of photos.

"I thought that these might help jog your memory," he said, handing her the book.

"Thank you, that's very sweet,"

The two of them spent an hour looking through photos and reminiscing. She gradually got closer and closer to him on the couch until she was leaning into him with her head resting upon his shoulder.

"Kathryn?"

"Hmm?" She replied sleepily.

"I want you to know, that I love you. I want nothing more than for us to be together, but if that's not what you want. I completely understand. Just…don't make the decision based on the baby ok? I would gladly raise this child as if it were my own…"

"Chakotay about that.." she figured it would be a good time to tell him that it was his child she carried, but he interrupted.

"Wait, I'm not finished. I love you with every bit of my soul. All you have to do is say the word and I'd be at your side. I have a question to ask you, but not here. Come with me," he put the photo album on the coffee table and took her hands to lead her out of the room.

Her smile was bright and tears of wonder had slipped down her cheeks during his profession of love. She laughed as he led her to a holodeck and started a program.

Upon entering, her tears came more rapidly and she brought her hand up to her mouth in shock.

New earth; right down to the smallest detail. The way the sun would shine, the grass beneath their feet, the slight breeze carrying a sweet scent, everything was perfect.

"Our talk earlier got me thinking about this place. I added to the program a bit while you were gone," he pointed to the right where a large and beautiful house sat in the middle of a field. A log cabin with a porch and two rocking chairs.

"It's the house I would have built for us, had we been on the planet longer,"

"It's perfect," she said.

"Just wait until you see the inside,"

She stood in disbelief as he opened the door. A beautiful stone fireplace, chairs, a kitchen with a long table. The whole house was fully furnished in a blend of both their personal styles.

"It's incredible," she whispered.

"I'm glad you think so. Now, as for my question,"

He reached in his back pocket and slowly got down on one knee. She gasped, as he opened the box to reveal a beautiful gold band with a single diamond in the middle.

"I had it replicated after I found out you were alive... I can't let another moment pass before I ask… Kathryn Janeway, will you marry me?"

* * *

"This way," said Harry.

"Where are we going?"

"One of your favorite places…Sandrine's,"

Harry pushed a few buttons, but then realized that holodeck one was taken so they went to holodeck two instead.

The two of them entered and both were greeted by Sandrine herself. After a polite conversation, the two men ordered drinks.

"I remember, I used to come here a lot," Tom said, the pictures were fuzzy but he recalled many drunken nights in this very bar. He was unsure if the memories were faded due to his amnesia or just the fact that when they occurred he was piss drunk.

"Yeah, all the time. Do you remember anything else?" Harry pushed.

"Pool, I remember kicking your ass. Care to relive the memory?" Tom said jokingly.

"You're on!" Harry smiled, happy to have his best friend back.

After two rounds, both ending in Tom's favor, the two men settled in as Harry retold the story of how they became friends.

"And the Ferengi threatened you, you were about to buy the whole box of those worthless gems,"

"You do remember!" Harry shouted happily.

"Yeah…I do,"

"What else do you remember?"

"Pieces..here and there. I remember some of my childhood, learning to fly my first ship. I remember some of our more…wild adventures during shore leave with a few different alien women. I was an excellent wingman,"

"Yeah, you were," Harry laughed.

"I remember…Kathryn and I… she was just the captain, a friend, but never more," Tom said glumly.

There was a moment which passed in silence.

"No, for you it was always B'Elanna. As for the captain, she was always in love with…" Harry said.

"Chakotay," Tom interrupted.

"Yeah,"

"Harry, tell me…was I… were B'Elanna and I happy?"

"You two fought a lot, but never seriously. I'd say you were both very happy, in fact you were getting ready to propose,"

It flashed in his mind, that night he had planned, but she never showed. The next morning he looked the ring over and put it back in his drawer. The moments, ones that had slipped away, were now peaking back through. Holding her in his arms, bickering and quickly making up, having wild adventures with her on the holodeck. He loved her, and he had been very happy.

"I have to go," Tom said blankly.

"Go? Go where?" Harry asked in confusion.

"I have to make something right," He said determined.

* * *

B'Elanna sat in her quarters. They hadn't been used for months since she and Tom had unofficially moved in with each other. That felt like a lifetime ago. She was pulled from her thoughts by the chime of the door. She assumed it was Chakotay or maybe Harry checking in on her.

"Go away!"

The chime rang again. This time, in frustration she went to the door to open it so that she could tell whoever was there to go away face-to-face.

"I said…" but she didn't get to finish yelling, because the moment the doors opened Tom grabbed her and kissed her fiercely. After what felt like forever, he pulled away breathless.

"I sorry B'E, I should have done that the moment I woke up…but I didn't realize, I didn't remember," Tom said sadly.

"It took you long enough helmboy," she whispered happily through tears of relief.

She leaned in and kissed him again, this time she moved her hands to start unzipping his jacket.

"Wait. I…I think I need time to…sort everything…the last few months out in my head. I just had to apologize for what happened in sickbay, that wasn't fair to you,"

She paused...she had to ask even if it was a mistake, she still had to know the truth.

"Do you still love me?"

"B'Elanna, of course, I love you, but it's more complicated than that. You know it's more complicated,"

"Yes, I do. I'm sorry, I shouldn't push you. I just really missed you,"

"And didn't realize how much I missed you. I remember dreaming about you, even during those months I was gone…you were still in my head,"

"I think you should go. I mean, stay if you want, but I think you know what will happen if you do," she said flirtatiously.

"Yeah, I have to get back to Harry. He's probably a little freaked out from the way I ran out of the holodeck,"

"We'll talk later?" She asked.

"Yeah, of course,"

He walked back to his quarters with a stupid smile plastered to his face. He tapped his commbadge.

"Paris to Kim"

"Sorry for the scare Harry, everything's fine. I'll be in my quarters for the rest of the night,"

"No problem. I'll see you tomorrow,"

As he entered his bedroom area, he sat on the edge of the bed and pulled the blue velvet box out of the nightstand. He smiled and ran a finger over the silver diamond ring. While looking at it, his eyes shifted towards his left ring finger where a ring used to be. He was already a husband, a father to be. Suddenly he was overcome with a familiar feeling…guilt. One thought entered his mind, what now? He loved two very different women, both so deeply and without doubt. It would be selfish not to make a choice, he just didn't know how.

* * *

 **Author's note: Thanks to everyone who is still reading! Please leave a review and let me know your thoughts, getting reviews really motivates me to continue the story. I apologize that it's been a few days, but I have been sick. Two major things to say: One, the next two weeks I have finals so if I don't post for a short while do not be alarmed. Two: I want your opinion. Would you rather me write a bunch more chapters going through Kathryn's pregnancy and getting the crew home or would you rather a shorter ending with an epilogue back on earth. I just don't know if you all want a longer story or if I'd be dragging it out too long. Let me know your thoughts!**


	12. Chapter Eleven

"Chakotay…I,"

She paused, taking in to account everything she was feeling. This included endless love for the man who knelt before her, but also gut-wrenching guilt for the other man whom she had left in sickbay a few short hours ago.

"I want to say yes," she said, the tears filling in her eyes.

"Then say it. Kathryn, I love you more than anything,"

"I love you too, but…" her heart was physically breaking under the pressure.

"But you're conflicted about Paris," he said getting up off the ground.

"For three months we were together, we got married. We were going to be a family. Suddenly I wake up to find that none of that was real. I know that you're real, and I know that I love you, but this is all such a mess, and I don't know what to do. I don't know what I want,"

"You mean you don't know who you want,"

She was silent, unsure of what to say or how to respond.

"I think…I shouldn't have sprung this on you. Kathryn, I know you love me, I know we can be happy together. I won't accept an answer right now, but promise me that you'll think about it,"

"I promise,"

"Hey, stop crying. There's been enough of that for a lifetime, don't you think?" he said.

"I didn't bring you here to make you upset, I brought you here to spend time with me, to remember more vividly the time we spent together. I thought we could go for a walk, and maybe after that, we could relax in front of the fire. Later we could try and pay your little monkey friend a visit," he suggested, trying to lighten the mood.

"You did not create a holo monkey!" she laughed.

"I very much did, just as pesky too. I really went for authenticity,"

She laughed, harder than she had laughed in days. The two walked out the door and went on their way.

* * *

The next morning, Neelix announced that there would be a party in the mess hall celebrating the triumphant return of their Captain and Lieutenant. The attire would be formal, there would be cake and champagne, and all the favorite foods of both people being celebrated.

Upon hearing the news, B'Elanna walked down the corridor confidently. When she reached his quarters, she took a nervous breath, scolding herself for behaving like a schoolgirl. She rang the chime and was immediately granted access.

"B'Elanna, I was just about to find you," he said.

"Well, I saved you the need. I actually came here to ask…if you'd be my date to the party tonight? And before you hesitate and think about whether the captain would be upset, I already heard she'd be attending with Chakotay,"

He paused, careful not to let his anger or jealousy about her last statement show, but it was difficult. He thought for a moment that if she was going with Chakotay it would only be fair that he go with B'Elanna.

"I'd be honored," he said.

"Great, pick me up around 1900 hours," she said.

"I'll be there,"

* * *

A few hours later, Kathryn looked at her body in the mirror. It had been a long and emotionally tiring day. After they left the holodeck, Chakotay asked if she would attend the party with him later that night. She accepted with little hesitation but mentally screamed that she shouldn't have done that. Tom might become upset, but she felt so horrible about the proposal earlier that she knew she couldn't say no to such a simple request.

During their conversation in the program, she attempted several times to broach the subject of the baby, but he stopped her each time, saying that they should talk about other things.

So there she was, getting ready for a party, partly in her name. So many problems could arise, but the only one she was concerning herself with in that moment was finding a dress that fit. Her breasts had become bigger, along with her stomach. While she wasn't much bigger than her original size, it was enough of a change that most of her clothes needed adjusting. In a moment of frustration, she actually tore one dress while trying to remove it.

Finally, she gave in and replicated something new before any more fashion casualties occurred. The dress was strapless and floor-length, and made of some sort of soft velvet. It hugged every curve and was sexy without being inappropriate. She was the captain after all. She pinned her hair loosely, allowing a few curls to frame her face. Her makeup was done simply, and she felt beautiful, but one look in the mirror and suddenly the voice in her head started to tell her otherwise. She thought that maybe it was too much, or not enough, or that her stomach was too far out. Normally she was a confident woman, aware of her appearance, but that night for some reason, she second-guessed everything.

She was so caught up, that she hadn't heard the chime ring. Chakotay got worried by her lack of answer, so he punched in the override. He walked back into the bedroom area and immediately had his breath taken away by the woman standing in front of the mirror. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever laid eyes upon. Her hands were rubbing her stomach, as her eyes searched her own body, scrutinizing every detail.

"You look incredible," his voice frightened her.

"I didn't hear you come in," she said.

"I chimed twice with no answer, I got worried so I let myself in,"

"Oh,"

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Nothing…just…do I really look ok?" her voice carried so much uncertainty and insecurity.

"You look more than ok," he said.

"I should've put something looser on, it's so obvious that I'm pregnant when I wear this,"

"Kathryn, You look beautiful in what you have on. The crew is going to be supportive of your pregnancy, no one will treat you differently. Besides, you can't hide it for very much longer. I say we rip this band-aid off..together,"

"You're right," she nodded.

"I know. Now let's get going before you're late to your own party,"

* * *

The mess hall was bright and lively. Everyone was bubbling with excitement to see the guests of honor.

As soon as the doors opened, Tom and B'Elanna were met with cheers and applause. Harry even managed to throw a large bin of confetti at the pair, who became both full of anger and laughter.

As they settled in and started conversations with old friends, the doors opened again. This round of cheering was even bigger than the last, and Tom took a moment to take in the image before him. She was gorgeous, and his mind drifted to all those nights by her side, their first kiss, their first time together, their wedding.

The cheering in the room turned to delightful surprise when several crew members noticed the captain's hand over her rounded stomach. Many of them threw in congratulations as they cheered. She simply laughed and stared in amazement at her incredible crew, thanking them for their kind words.

As the excitement wound down, Chakotay held out his hand and asked her to dance. She quickly accepted and they made their way out to the middle of the floor.

Other couples soon joined, but Kathryn's eyes remained on one.

As Tom swayed with B'Elanna in his arms, he couldn't help but steal a quick glance from across the room. Right away, he noticed that she was staring back, tears threatening to fall from her eyes.

B'Elanna looked at Tom and knew exactly where he was staring and why. In a split second decision, she turned his face towards her and kissed him passionately. He pulled back after a few seconds, to see Kathryn running out the door and a shellshocked Chakotay standing alone in the middle of the dance floor. Some of the crew stopped dancing, observing the scene with confusion and interest.

"What the hell was that B'Elanna," he said angrily.

"What? I thought that you…that we were…."

"I said I have a lot to figure out, Kathryn too. Throwing yourself at me in front of her…what were you trying to accomplish?"

He started walking away.

"Tom, wait!"

But he didn't, he kept on walking.

She kept her head down and her pace quick until she found somewhere she could be alone. It was an empty cargo bay, the only light came through a few viewports. Kathryn walked over to and looked out, nothing but stars streaking past. Her tears flowed freely. She felt foolish, confused, and angry. She wanted to move on, she wanted her old life back, she wanted to marry Chakotay and be a family, but when she saw Tom kiss B'Elanna….

The familiar hiss of the doors let her know that her time alone was up.

"You ok?" Tom asked gently.

She chuckled sarcastically.

"I think you know I'm not, or else you wouldn't be here," she answered.

There was a silence as he stood next to her. Neither knew what to say.

Finally, he broke the silence.

"Do you regret those three months? Do you regret being with me?" He asked.

"No," she answered without hesitation.

"I wouldn't go back, I wouldn't change anything. The time I spent with you was …incredible, but none of it was real. It was all a fantasy, an illusion," she said.

"You said that before, but I don't think that's true. It was real for me. What I felt, what you felt, you can't look me in the eye and honestly say it was fake," he waited, but there was no reply.

"If you could do that, we wouldn't be standing here right now, you wouldn't be so upset," he said.

She still didn't answer him. There was no way she could, he was right.

"Why are you here. Is it because of the kiss?" He asked.

"I have no right to feel jealous, I know that," she said guiltily.

"But we can't help it. When I heard you were coming with Chakotay tonight, I got so angry,"

"We have to stop. We shouldn't be talking about this, we need to move on," she said.

"Move on from what, the fact that I love you?"

"Please, Tom,"

"That we're going to be a family?"

"Tom.." She had to do it, she had to tell him the truth.

"Kathryn, give me one good reason we shouldn't be together,"

There it was, her opening, her chance.

"Because the baby's not yours! It's not yours, it Chakotay's," the words spilled out quicker and angrier than she had intended. The look of hurt on his face made her wish she had been gentler.

"H…how?"

"I was pregnant before we were captured, I didn't know,"

He paused before whispering.

"And do you love him? Do you want to be with him?"

"I think I do. I know that a big part of me does, but there's still this…other part, that belongs to you. I fear it always will,"

"That's how I feel with B'Elanna. I want to be able to give her my whole heart, she deserves nothing less, but I don't know if I can," he said.

"You will. I think what we need is to try and reconnect with them, get to know them better and try to find happiness, but in order for that to work we can't be spending time together,"

"You want to avoid me?" His hurt expression made her heart crumble, but this was a conversation that needed to happen.

"Only for a little while. We'll work different shifts, we'll stay away from each other during our time off. Hopefully, it will be enough to give these relationships a real chance, to give everyone a chance to be happy," she said.

"What if that doesn't work, what if you and I can't find happiness with other people?"

"Then we try finding it together," she said.

"But what if you do and I don't? Or the other way around? Will one of us have to live in suffering seeing the other live happily with someone else?" this was a real and deep fear that both of them had. The pain of being alone, watching the person you love be with someone else it would be unbearable.

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it, but we cannot go into this with that attitude," she said.

"So then this is goodbye," he said sadly.

"Only for a little while," she replied.

He stepped forward, cupping her cheek gently in his hand.

"Goodbye Mr. Paris," she said softly.

"Goodbye Mrs. Paris," he said.

She smiled tearfully, and he pulled her close for one last kiss. It was gentle at first, but seeing as it may never happen again, Tom took the opportunity to show her all the passion and love he had for her. It left her utterly breathless. She felt that nothing would ever break them apart, until something did, or rather someone. The two jumped apart like guilty teenagers only to see Chakotay immediately turn and leave.

Kathryn looked at Tom with a glance he understood to mean she was sorry. He nodded and she ran out the door, almost crashing into B'Elanna on her way.

"Sorry," she yelled, flying past.

B'Elanna looked at Tom, who had since turned to look out the viewport.

"You ok?" She asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he replied.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have kissed you like that. It was insensitive, especially to the captain and I don't know why…" her apology was interrupted.

"It's fine B'E, really," he said.

"Something's wrong. What is it, you can tell me," she moved her hand to his shoulder.

"Nothing's wrong, I'm just processing things," it was the truth. That conversation, everything he learned, it was a lot to take in.

When he turned to face her she saw a smudge of lipstick on his lower lip.

"And kissing her, that was part of the process?" She said sarcastically.

"How did you?…" he asked, surprised she knew, but even more surprised she wasn't beating him to a pulp at that moment, he probably deserved it.

"Lipstick, I'm not wearing that shade, but she is, and now so are you," she said, wiping it from his mouth.

"Listen B'E it isn't what you think. We…we were saying goodbye," he explained.

"Goodbye?"

"We want to try and fix things, back the way they were. Kathryn with Chakotay, me with you,"

Her heart ached. She was hoping he would say this to her, but his expression didn't tell her that he was happy.

"Is that what you want?" She asked.

"I think it is…yeah. B'Elanna I love you. You deserve nothing else but to be happy, but it wouldn't be fair unless I told you that I'm not completely over her, I'm trying, but it's not simple,"

"I understand, and I'm willing to be patient with you, but I refuse to be anybody's second choice," she said sternly.

"You will never be my second choice, I just need to focus on remembering what we had and try to rediscover our future together, whatever that looks like,"

"What about when she has the baby? Wouldn't you want to be a couple to raise a child together,"

"It isn't my baby," he said, trying to hide the bitterness from his voice. That might give away how much he wished it was his.

"It isn't?" She asked, confused.

"Apparently she was pregnant before we were taken,"

"Oh," she said, putting the pieces together in her mind.

There was a pause. She wasn't sure what to say.

"Listen, why don't we go back to the party. Then we can go back to our quarters and talk some more," he suggested.

"Our quarters?" She said, surprised.

"Yes. Our quarters. I shouldn't have let you go back to your old ones. Maybe we can talk about getting rid of those, making your stay a permanent one,"

She smiled brightly and nodded. She was at a loss for words.

He took her in his arms and kissed the top of her head.

"I love you," she whispered so genuinely.

"I love you too," he said, and he meant it.

She pulled back from him with a devilish grin.

"Now how about we go dump a whole thing of glitter on Harry to get back at him for that confetti bomb earlier," she suggested.

"You got the glitter?" He asked.

She pulled two vials out of her clutch bag.

"Pink or purple?" She asked.

"Pink, definitely pink," he answered.

The two laughed and made their way back to the party.

* * *

Kathryn asked the computer for the location of Commander Chakotay and it quickly told her that he was in his quarters. She started running. Her heart beat fast and her head was spinning, but the only thing that mattered was finding him.

Finally, she made it to his quarters and rang the chime. There was no answer. She rang it again only to be met with the same reply…nothing. Finally, she decided to punch in the override code, but before she got the chance, her vision began to blur. Her hands flew to her head as everything went dark and she collapsed. In her last moments before completely blacking out, she was terrified and praying to whoever was listening, that her daughter would be ok.

Chakotay had heard the chimes and wished she'd just leave. He didn't want to face her. He didn't want to hear how she was sorry but she couldn't marry him because she was in love with someone else. Eventually, the chimes stopped. He waited for her to override the lock, but it never happened. Instead, he heard a thump. His head shot up, but he was unsure what the sound even was. Something in him told him to check outside, the other part of him considered staying and not bothering to look. Against his better judgment, he opened the door.

Immediately his heart dropped into his stomach and he wasted no time rushing over to her. He silently chastised himself for hesitating to open the door at all.

"Kathryn? Wake up!"

He felt for a pulse. It was strong, but beating rapidly.

Her eyes fluttered but never opened. She was not responding to him.

"Commander Chakotay to transporter room one. I'm requesting an emergency transport of the Captain and myself to sickbay,"

"Aye, sir,"

With that, he held his breath as the two of them shimmered out of sight.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Thank you for your opinions, most seem to favor a longer more fleshed out story. That's what I originally intended, but I just wanted to be sure people would be interested in a longer story, I'd hate for people to lose interest. I will post one more chapter this upcoming week and then I will take a small break for finals (I'm so not ready). Thank you for the nice comments. Also I _wish_ creative writing was a final, but you know instead its math and chemistry and all that other fun stuff. ****Anyway I hope you all liked this chapter, please let me know your thoughts.**


	13. Chapter Twelve

**Author's Note: Two chapters in one night? My heavens! Yes folks this is what happens when you couple my love of Ed Sheeran music (always makes me wanna write sappy things) with insomnia. Get ready for fluff people it's only fair that I warn you. Also it gets a little...spicy i guess the word is. I'm not talking smut, get your head out of the gutter, but it's...something. This does not count as the other chapter I will post this week. Final note: I too am a ho for cliff hanger endings (which is why most chapters end that way) so ya know...buckle up. (This one IS for you RuthlessBallard! Bringing headcanon to life is my favorite thing to do). Now...I mean get reading the characters await.**

* * *

"Chakotay?" Her voice was raspy.

"I'm here," he answered, squeezing her hand.

"What happened?" She asked.

The doctor took it upon himself to interrupt them at that moment.

"You fainted; seems like a case of low blood pressure, not uncommon for a first-time mother, especially one in her forties,"

That remark earned the doctor his very own death glare from the captain herself.

"And she's ok?" Kathryn asked, grazing a hand over her stomach.

"You and your daughter are both in perfect health and will remain so as long as you take it easy. I'll leave you two alone for a little while, but I'll be back to give you the results of a few extra tests I ran, just as a safety precaution,"

"Thank you, doctor," she replied.

"Kathryn, you don't have to explain anything, just promise me that he makes you happy," Chakotay said.

Kathryn was shocked and saddened by his words, she'd hurt him deeply.

"Chakotay, obviously I do need to explain. That kiss, what you saw it wasn't the start of something it was the end," she said.

"I don't understand,"

"I told him that I wanted to be with you and that he should be with B'Elanna. He agreed and we said goodbye,"

"Kathryn I don't want you to sacrifice your happiness for mine or anyone else's,"

"You are my happiness, Chakotay. It's always been you," she said.

Chakotay leaned down and kissed her, but not for very long as the doctor reentered and interrupted them once again.

"Sorry to disturb you, but everything checked out fine, just as I suspected," he said.

"You're certain?" she asked.

"Absolutely, I can pull her image up again if you'd like to take a look,"

"I'd love that, thank you," she said.

"Do you want…me to get Tom, he should probably be here for this," Chakotay suggested.

"No, that's alright,"she said.

"Shouldn't the father be present?" Chakotay asked.

She hesitated for a moment, then decided there was no better time for the truth than the present.

"He is," she said, her eyes glistening with unshed tears and her smile gentle and bright.

"Kathryn…" he sounded confused.

"I was two weeks pregnant before everything. This is our baby Chakotay, our little girl," her hand in his, she watched as his face lit up once he took in all she had told him.

"Here she is," the doctor said with a smile.

The doctor showed them their daughter, stretching her legs and twirling around. The proud parents gazed in awe of her.

"Kathryn, she's beautiful," he said.

"I know," she acknowledged.

* * *

"I can't believe you dumped all that glitter on me. I'll be finding it everywhere for a week,"

Tom and B'Elanna laughed at their friend who was covered in bright pink glitter for the past hour.

"I think it's time to call it a night," Tom said.

"I agree, I'm gonna need to shower at least there times before bridge duty tomorrow," Harry said.

"See ya, Harry," B'Elanna said.

As they entered their quarters, B'Elanna placed her bag down and took off her earrings, Tom watched her closely.

She noticed his stare and walked toward him with a soft smile. She slowly leaned in for a gentle kiss, and gradually deepened it. Tom pulled back to break the kiss. Her eyes never parted with his as his hands found their way to the back of her dress, unzipping little by little until it fell to the ground. He took in the picture of her standing before him. Each touch contained the gentle and timid shyness of a new lover, increasing their intensity. She closed her eyes and sucked in a shaky breath as he removed the last bit of her clothing. His bare left hand rested on her shoulder, but he could've sworn he saw the absent gold ring for just a moment. B'Elanna saw his distracted expression and cupped his cheek.

"Hey, be here with me. Don't disappear," she whispered quietly.

He smiled and kissed her tenderly.

"I'm right here, I'm not going anywhere, not again," he whispered as he picked her up and carried her into the bedroom.

* * *

Chakotay walked Kathryn back to her quarters, it had been a long day and she was thankful that the doctor didn't keep her overnight.

"Would you like…to come in for a drink?" She asked.

"Of course," he replied.

She went to the replicator and ordered two teas, bringing them back to the couch where Chakotay had taken a seat.

"Thank you," he said, accepting the mug from her hand.

She sat beside him and smiled shyly as she took a sip.

"Have you thought of any names?"

"No, not yet. Now that I know her real heritage I was hoping for a name that represents where she comes from. One name from you, one from me,"

"That's a wonderful idea," he said.

"I've always been partial to the name Elizabeth," she suggested.

"Taya," he blurted out

"Taya?" she asked.

"Taya Elizabeth Janeway," he said.

"It's perfect," she smiled. They both smiled, realizing that they just named their child.

"You know I keep thinking that, if I hadn't been taken, if I hadn't discovered my pregnancy while in that…simulation…that fantasy world, we might not have her,"

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"I mean that, if I had found out about it here, I would have considered other options. I have concerns about being pregnant and being the captain, those concerns would've clouded my judgment. Being in that simulation gave me time to adjust, to think, time to become attached and fall in love with the idea of her. When I remembered who I was, those fears came into my head but what overshadowed them was a need to protect my child, she came first,"

"Had you found out on the ship…would you have…terminated?" he asked hesitantly.

"No, but I probably would have placed her in stasis until I thought it was a good time. But that day might never have come, I would have pushed it further and further back until it was too late," she said sadly.

"I'm glad you're going through with this. I can't wait to meet her," he said, placing a hand over her stomach.

"Neither can I,"

The two of them stayed up talking and laughing, imagining their little girl and what she'd be like. He told her that she'd inherit her mother's smile and stubborn nature, she laughed and said that she hopes their daughter doesn't inherit his piloting skills. As the time ticked away, Chakotay found himself doing most of the talking, seeing Kathryn had fallen asleep. Her head was on his shoulder and her hand intertwined with his.

"Kathryn?" He whispered.

The only answer he received was a light snore, causing him to chuckle.

He adjusted himself to pick her up and carry her to the bed, as he put her down her eyes fluttered open. He walked out to leave, but she grabbed his hand.

"Stay….please," she said.

He simply took off both their shoes and climbed in next to her, drawing her body back towards his.

A silent tear fell as Chakotay thanked the spirits that she was in his arms again, another prayer went out as he asked them to bless their beautiful little girl. His hand caressed her stomach and he placed light kisses on her shoulders as they both drifted into a blissful sleep.

* * *

Three weeks passed by, and Kathryn's plan of avoiding Tom had been working. Her relationship with Chakotay was back to being playful and loving, and Tom and B'Elanna rediscovered their passion with one another. Two weeks before, the doctor had cleared both patients to return to full duty and Kathryn was beyond happy to be back commanding the bridge.

Every member of the crew was happy to see their captain back where she belonged, especially Chakotay.

"Captain on the bridge," Harry said.

She proudly approached her chair and sat beside her first officer.

"Good morning, Captain," he said.

"Morning commander," she replied with a smile.

Over the past few weeks, another new development was the captain's stomach, as it had grown enough to force her into a maternity uniform. At first, she was nervous about it looking ridiculous: a captain commanding a ship in a maternity uniform, but ultimately she decided it would be better than a captain breaking her zipper or splitting her pants in front of the bridge crew. Replicating lager sizes as she got larger only worked if she had enough replicator rations, which she did not, so she opted for the last resort.

Her first two weeks back had been relatively quiet and she was grateful for the opportunity for an easy adjustment. She wasn't sure if she'd handle a red alert very well in her first few days. Now she was getting back into the swing of things and feeling more confident.

Her thoughts were running wild, but suddenly a slight fluttering sensation grabbed her attention and caused her to gasp. Only Chakotay was close enough to hear her, but it was his worried reaction that gained the attention from the rest of the crew.

"Kathryn? What's wrong?" He asked quickly.

"I…I think she moved," she whispered with a smile.

He laughed and grabbed her hand, but they were violently interrupted by some sort of weapon firing on the ship. They rocked forth and fell back.

"Captain, weapons fired from an unknown vessel approaching quickly,"

"Hail them," she commanded.

"No response captain," Harry replied.

Another shot caused the ship to shake, this time was even greater than the first.

"Hail them again," she ordered.

"They've responded," he replied.

"On screen!" she said.

Suddenly an image of a familiar alien appeared in front of them, one which barely sparked recognition in Kathryn, but sent chills down Chakotay's spine.

"My name is Kwide…you are her…where is your mate? I refuse to cease fire without taking the two of you back with me," he said.

Suddenly it hit Kathryn why she recognized him. Her anger boiled over and got the better of her normally diplomatic replies.

"I'm afraid that's not an option. You've done enough, leave now or we will be forced to use our weapons, and I can assure you they are far greater than yours," she said.

"Oh, I know. Which is why I have something else. Call it an insurance policy, but I had those monitors inside you enhanced for the possibility that I'd need them,"

"Monitors, what monitors?" she asked.

"The ones we injected you with. Ah, you don't know about them. Of course, our technology far surpasses yours. You and your partner were injected with monitors which were designed to synthesize hormones. It's currently attached to your brain in three places, all of which are practically undetectable. You see one of the modifications I had made involves this little button,"

He held up a control with a red button, his thumb hovered over it, taunting her.

"Trust me when I say that coming with me now will save the both of you a lot of pain," he said.

"There is no way anyone on this ship is going with you," Chakotay stood beside Kathryn, anger in his voice.

"Fine, how about a little taste then, hmmm," Kwide said.

Chakotay flashed a concerned glance towards Kathryn as Kwide hit the button.

It took about ten seconds before Kathryn fell immediately to her knees screaming in agony. It felt like every bone in her body was breaking over and over again. Her hands were squeezing her head as it felt like it was about to explode. Everyone stood frozen unsure of what to do or how to help her. No one had ever heard their captain scream like that before, not even Chakotay.

"Turn it off! Turn it off now, you'll kill her," Chakotay screamed.

Kwide took his thumb off the button with a smug grin on his face.

"That was the lowest setting, I've barely begun. I'll give you one hour to transport to my ship if by the end of that hour you aren't here I'll kill you both…actually, I suppose there's three of you now," The screen went black and Chakotay helped Kathryn to her feet. She was covered in sweat and tears, her body ached and she was wobbly as she stood.

They both looked at each other, silently sharing the thought: "What are we going to do now?"


	14. Chapter Thirteen

**Author's note: I survived finals week! More importantly, I survived my first semester of college! So, I apologize for taking a break from posting, but I needed to focus on my studies. I had** **intended on posting one more chapter before finals week started but an unexpected death of a close family friend had me in no mood to write or really do much of anything. On to happier things, this chapter is really long so enjoy it! I'll be posting regularly now because I'm on a month long break.**

* * *

Tom drew her body closer to his. The sweet smell of her hair and the gentle, even pace of her breathing made his heart swoon. It was almost time to get up, but he ignored that for a moment, savoring what time he had before the day would begin.

"Tom, we should get up," B'Elanna said.

"What if we don't and say we did," he suggested.

"I don't think that would work. Especially when people start to notice we're not at our stations,"

Neither moved for a few seconds, committing the feeling of that morning to their memories. He laid a kiss on the top of her head and rolled over to get up.

"Fine, you win," he said, making his way to the bathroom.

"What do you want to eat for breakfast?" She called from the bed.

There was no response.

"Tom?" she called, still lying in bed. She rolled her eyes when he still hadn't answered her.

All of the sudden she heard a loud thump, followed by agonizing screams. She bolted out of bed as fast as she could, running to find the source of the noise. Tom was on the ground in front of the bathroom door, his hands grasping at his head. He was flailing around, his face turned bright red, and his screams sounded like pleas for mercy. B'Elanna had no idea how to react, she didn't know where the pain was coming from, what was happening. He eyes were wide in shock and tears of fear threatened to run down her cheek.

"Tom! What's wrong?!" was all she managed to yell.

Finally, the yelling stopped. His breathing was ragged and labored, but his face was returning to its normal color.

"Tom?" She asked cautiously.

"What the hell just happened?" He said, his voice still shaky.

* * *

"There's no way you are going on that ship. End of story," he said, making his way into the ready room.

"I didn't realize that you were making the decisions here commander," she said, putting emphasis on his rank.

"I should be when the lives of my family are on the line. I will not hand over the love of my life and our daughter to this deranged psychopath without a fight. There has to be another way,"

"We've discussed all other options. The safest one is to go with him. The minute we're beamed on that ship, he'll be looking closely for signs of a trick, and I don't want to find out what'll happen if he finds one. The pain that I felt from that…I can't go through that again, I don't think my body could handle it, I don't think the baby would handle it," she said nervously.

"I know…but Kathryn I can't lose you again, not now. After everything we've been through, everything he put us through,"

"Hey...you found me once, you can do it again," she said.

He cupped her cheek and kissed her forehead, pulling the rest of her into a hug.

"Chakotay, if I get injured…. If anything happens to me…the baby comes first,"

"Kathryn I…"

"No. This is important. She comes first. I need you to understand that,"

"I understand," he said, hoping that it would never come to that.

"Thank you,"

"We'd better get the senior staff meeting. It's best we try to figure out some sort of plan, anything that will help us get you home as quickly and safely as possible," he suggested.

She nodded, and they walked out the door.

* * *

"I'm telling you that the brain scans I have performed were very extensive and I did not pick up any sort of technology implanted anywhere. I am simply unable to find anything," said the doctor.

He had been searching each scan meticulously for any signs of implants, but he found nothing. With no understanding of where to locate the implants, the chance of removing them within the hour was more than slim, it was impossible.

"Is there any other way to buy more time? Maybe if we can get the remote control from his ship we can end the threat," Chakotay said.

"It doesn't seem to be a possibility," B'Elanna chimed in.

Soon the entire senior staff was arguing about the best way to proceed, but time was quickly ticking away and this banter was not getting them any closer to an answer.

Kathryn stood up at the end of the table.

"I understand that you are all anxious to find a way out of this, but frankly I don't see any other option than to do what he says," she said, quieting everyone down.

Her eyes scanned the room, careful not to catch Tom's glance. Senior staff meetings were the only time the two saw each other, but each time it never got any easier to be in the same room. There remained a distinct tension, a lack of once playful banter. Tom did not speak unless spoken to, and even then he only gave short, straightforward answers.

"We know he has to be taking us back to his people. The whole purpose of the initial…experiment was to impress his government. So Voyager will have to find a different route to the planet, that way Kwide will be unaware you're following his trail. Lieutenant Paris and I will beam aboard his ship and be as cooperative as possible until a rescue team is ready. Perhaps the Tuluj government could be of assistance in some way, we should consider contacting them," she said looking to Chakotay. Her only knowledge of what actually happened during her time away, came from Chakotay and B'Elanna's briefings.

"I'm afraid not, they were less than helpful the last time we spoke," Chakotay said.

"But you said yourself that they assumed Tom…Mister Paris and I had volunteered to be a part of the experiment. Perhaps if we offer them proof that we were taken against our will, maybe they will feel more compelled to help," she said.

"How do you suggest we do that?" Chakotay asked.

She paused to think, but before she could say anything, Tom spoke up.

"What if we record all of our interactions with Kwide? We can set up cameras on our uniforms, and try to get him to say things to incriminate himself," he offered. The idea had come from one of his favorite movies about an intelligent spy who used the very same trick to imprison his enemy by the end of the movie.

"While looking into their culture, it's obvious that they value honesty and the maintenance of peace with other species. If they saw what Kwide was really up to, they might be willing to help put a stop to this," B'Elanna added.

"Won't he be able to find any cameras?" Kathryn said, looking Tom directly in the eyes. It was the first time in what felt like forever and it took him a moment to gather his composure.

B'Elanna noticed his nerves and stepped in.

"Our technology is very different from theirs. If you lie about what the camera is, he might not think anything of it. Besides, if he's not looking for it, how will he know where to find it?" She said.

"You've got a point," Chakotay replied.

"Alright, then it's settled. We only have a little under thirty minutes to construct this plan, but I have faith it'll work," Kathryn said.

* * *

The rest of the hour had gone by quickly, but it was now time for them to beam aboard. A few of them were in the transporter room. Tom and B'Elanna were talking in the corner, while two ensigns were preparing the transport.

Chakotay was fastening the camera to Kathryn's shirt. B'Elanna managed to replicate two miniature cameras that looked just like pips, one for Kathryn and one for Tom.

"I don't like this Kathryn," Chakotay said.

"Neither do I," she whispered.

"Just…be safe. Don't go trying to play the hero and getting yourself hurt, give the plan a chance to work," he said sternly.

"I won't be taking any chances, not when I have so much to lose," she said.

He pulled her towards him gently for a chaste kiss goodbye. She was reluctant, being as they had never displayed their affections in public, but she gave in seeing as it was him saying goodbye. She didn't want to even think that it could be for the last time, but that was the reality of the situation. She had no idea what she was about to go in to.

Without over thinking, she took her place on the transporter pad as Tom walked over and did the same.

"Transporter ready?" She asked

"Aye Captain," the ensign replied.

"Beam us aboard," she commanded.

"Initiating transport," one ensign called out.

Chakotay's heart dropped the instant she shimmered away.

* * *

"Ahhhh, my guests have arrived. I see you chose wisely not to go against me," Kwide turned to greet them. His clothes were stained, his eyes had bags underneath them, and his skin was less vibrant. Overall he looked unkempt and tired.

"We are not guests. We're prisoners," she said bitterly.

"If I were you I'd tell your mate to take a lighter tone with me," Kwide said, looking right passed Kathryn and right at Tom.

"I'm not his mate, but he is a member of my crew. I am responsible for his safety," she said, stepping closer to the alien.

"I see things are run a little…differently among your kind," he said with distaste.

"I demand to know what your intentions are," she said sternly.

"You don't make demands. You belong to me, the both of you," he replied.

"If you must know, I intend to finish what we… what I started…" Kwide stopped suddenly.

"What you started…oh please," huffed a familiar voice.

"Clenak?" Kwide whispered in shock.

Kathryn looked around and then shot a confused glance at Tom. Clenak stepped out from the corner and walked towards Kwide.

"How…how are you here…I thought I…"

"Killed me? Yes…. you did,"

"So how are you here?" Kwide asked.

"Who said I was?" And just like that, he disappeared.

"Who are you talking to?" Kathryn asked.

Kwide cleared his throat and brought himself back to reality.

"No one. Now let's get you two settled in. We have a long journey ahead of us,"

Kwide lead them to a room in the back of the ship and once they were inside, he closed the door and locked it.

"Now remember, no tricks. I'll be watching, and all it takes is one push of a button to have you subdued," he shouted through the door.

Kwide made his way back to the helm of the ship and started on his course.

"How long do you think it will be before they try and break out?" Clenak said smugly.

"You are not real," Kwide said to himself.

"You're right, I'm not. But that doesn't mean we can't talk,"

"Go away!" Kwide shouted.

"Hey, you owe me. I'm dead because of you. The least you can do is talk to me. Being dead is rather lonely,"

Kwide remained silent and focused on the controls in front of him.

"What do you intend to do with them when you get back home? You don't know how to figure out the equipment, how to safely restart the program. You think that if you show up with your prisoners in hand that the government will just listen to you? They'll lock you up for good if they find out what you've really done,"

"Quiet! I can figure it out once I get back. I can do it. I can get them back into the program just like before. I can fix this," he said.

"Some things are not able to be fixed Kwide. Those are innocent lives back there. You stole them away from the people who love them. The number of laws you have broken, the lives you've ruined. None of this is worth the cost,"

"Yes, it is! It is! You said it yourself. We would be helping billions of people in our society, our names will go down in history,"

"My name won't be going anywhere. You made sure of that," Clenak said.

"Don't say that. I will make sure your name is right where it belongs…next to mine. You were the mind behind everything, the genius. I won't let you be forgotten," Kwide said.

"How comforting," Clenak said sarcastically.

"My murderer will ensure my legacy," he continued.

"Clenak, I gave you a choice. I didn't want to…"

"You didn't want to, but you did. I'm dead because you pulled that trigger. I'm dead because you valued money and fame more than you valued our friendship….more than you valued my life!" Clenak shouted.

"Stop it! You aren't real," Kwide yelled, tears streaming down his face.

"No, but it feels real, doesn't it. It hurts you to be reminded of what you did….But it's an illusion, your mind playing tricks, a manifestation of your guilt. The reality is that you buried my body In an unmarked grave. No one else knows I'm dead. You hid me away, swept me under the rug like I was nothing like I meant nothing to you,"

"I'm sorry…I'm so sorry,"

"If you're so sorry, why don't you face me. Why don't you look at what you did," he said.

Kwide reluctantly turned around to face him and was met with the image that haunted his nightmares. Clenak stood before him with a gaping wound, blood soaked through his clothes and spilled onto the floor.

"Look at what you did…..this is all your fault," and in the blink of an eye, he disappeared once more.

* * *

"What do you think is going on out there?" Tom asked.

"I'm not sure. It sounds like he's having an argument, but I only hear one voice," she replied, facing the opposite direction.

"Kathryn, are you ever going to look at me?"

"Do I have to?" She asked intending to joke, but coming off as more serious.

"Well we are a long ways from the Tuluj, and I'd rather not spend the next few weeks in awkward silence. It wouldn't be long before you'd have two crazy people yelling at themselves on this ship,"

"I know, I'm sorry,"

"You don't have to be sorry. I understand that it's a little… strange, this whole situation, but we can't hide from each other, we can't avoid each other in this tiny room for weeks on end, so we might as well just talk," he said.

"You're right I…" she stopped and moved her hands to her stomach.

"You ok?" He asked.

"I'm fine. I'm just not used to her kicking that's all," she said, slightly embarrassed.

"A girl huh? Who could've guessed that one?" He said slyly.

She chuckled and shook her head.

"A lot of people. It's a fifty-fifty shot," she said.

"Sure, except I knew from the beginning,"

He hesitated before asking his next question.

"Can I feel her kick?"

"I don't think you'll be able to, but you can try,"she replied.

She walked towards him and took his hand, guiding it to the spot where the baby last kicked.

His eyes brightened and his smile grew.

"There, did you feel that?" She asked in excitement.

"Yes!"

"Really?" She said, surprised.

"No," he admitted.

She laughed and swatted at his arm.

* * *

Chakotay sat behind his desk, watching the camera as it showed another man feel for a kick from his unborn child. Anger grew within him, but he quickly pushed it aside. He felt slightly guilty for even watching them at all, but out of a morbid curiosity he needed to keep watching, and he did.

Before then, he hadn't seen much of their interactions. He hadn't really been able to picture Kathryn and Tom together as a couple, but it was easy to see how much she relaxed in his presence. He thought she only did that with him.

* * *

"You should get some rest, you must be exhausted," he said

"You look tired too. We should both get some sleep," she suggested.

"Well I only see one bed," he said.

"We shared a bed for months. At the very least, I can sleep under the covers and you can sleep on top of them," she said.

He stood there, faking offense at the suggestion.

"Oh so you get to be cozy while I get to shiver all night long," he said, teasing her.

"Five seconds ago you were content to sleep on the floor!" She said with a hint of a smile.

"That was then, this is now," he muttered.

"You're impossible," she said, rolling her eyes.

"Part of my charm," he said with a smirk.

There was a pause.

"I missed this," she said glumly.

"Me too," he said with a smile.

"How are you?" She asked.

"Happy….mostly," he said.

"And you?" He asked.

"Happy," she answered.

He smiled and turned away to set up the bed.

"Mostly," she whispered, but he hadn't heard.

* * *

"Wake up," she whispered.

"What?" He asked groggily.

"Do you feel that?" she asked.

"Feel what?"

"Exactly, I don't feel anything," she said.

"We've stopped moving," he realized.

"It's impossible. At the fastest speed, we might be able to get there within two weeks, but overnight?" she said

"Kathryn, Kwide was always telling us about how much more advanced they are compared to us. Maybe it is possible,"

"That would mean that we're here and Voyager is still at least two or three weeks out. This was not part of the plan,"

"No, it wasn't,"

They sat straight up as the door flew open.

"We're here. Time to go," Kwide said. He looked worse than the day before. It was obvious he hadn't slept.

Kathryn stood and started to talk, but Kwide held up the button.

"I am in no mood for arguments or questions. Get moving before you do something that you're sure to regret,"

The three of them walked off the ship and into an open stretch of snow-covered land. The ground underneath was uneven and rocky. Looking over, Kathryn noticed that the land ended and below was a long drop. They were very high up. Kathryn and Tom paused for a moment to take in their surroundings, surmising that they must be on top of some sort of mountain. Kwide was highly impatient and pushed them forward.

"Where are you taking us?" Kathryn asked.

"Back where I had you," Kwide said.

He pushed a few buttons that were on his belt and suddenly a force field of sorts grew before their eyes.

"After you," Kwide said, ushering them forward.

* * *

"Commander," Harry called.

"What is it ensign Kim?" Chakotay asked.

"It seems that the Tuluj ship has disappeared," he said.

Chakotay looked up with a worried expression on his face.

"I'll go check the recordings,"

He ran to his office and pulled up footage from the last few hours.

"They're already there," he whispered in fear.

His heart dropped. He called for an emergency meeting. They needed to plot a new course, a faster course.

* * *

The three of them were in a room that looked similar to a sickbay. There were two chairs, monitors, machines, and the walls were bare white, practically glowing from the bright lights.

"Remove your clothes and put these on," Kwide said handing them two medical gowns.

"You really think that you can pull this off?" Clenak said, leaning on a wall behind Tom and Kathryn.

Kwide ignored him and tried to focus.

"No time to waste. I need you in these in order to begin," Kwide said.

"You also need an education in modern science and twenty-five years of field experience, but sure, you'll be great," Clenak said with sarcasm.

Kwide huffed in anger.

Kathryn and Tom looked at each other with confused expressions but began to remove their uniforms. Kathryn picked the camera off of her collar and held it in her hand. Once she had the medical garb on, she pinned it near the bottom of the gown and hoped that he wouldn't notice.

"Sit down, both of you," he commanded.

They sat in large metal chairs. Kwide strapped Kathryn's hands and legs to the chair.

"What are you doing?" Tom yelled.

"I can't have either of you getting away, not again," Kwide said.

"Do you really think you can wipe their memories without damaging their brains?" Clenak said.

"You do this wrong and they'll be nothing more than worthless piles of mush," he continued.

"I know that!" Kwide yelled.

"You know what?" Kathryn asked.

"Nothing….it's none of your concern. No more questions," Kwide said.

He finished strapping her in and moved over to Tom. He strapped his legs in first and then moved up to his hands.

"You know, for a man trying to become known for the greatest scientific discovery, you're lacking one of the most important skills,"

"And what would that be?" Kwide said annoyed.

"Observation," Clenak said.

"You're telling me that you didn't notice the female had something pinned to her dress as you were strapping her down?" Clenak walked over to Kathryn, bent down to where the camera was and looked up at Kwide.

Kwide walked over to her now seething with rage.

Her eyes grew wider as he got closer.

"What the hell is this?" He asked, taking the camera off her gown and moving it closer to her face.

"It's a pip. Something we use to distinguish ranks on our ship," she said, trying to remain calm.

He walked over and scanned the object. Throwing it down on the ground and smashing it beneath his foot.

"Liar!" He shouted.

"You tried to trick me?...Big mistake," he said through gritted teeth. He picked up a scalpel and held it to her neck.

Tom's heart pounded in his chest. He realized Kwide had only strapped on hand in, so he worked on quietly slipping out of his restraints.

"You can't kill me. You need me for this experiment to work," She said, swallowing the lump in her throat.

"She's right you know. We can't do an experiment proving love with just one person. That would just be narcissism, and you do a great job of proving that exists every day," Clenak said.

Kwide growled, but kept his attention on Kathryn.

"I may need you, but I have no need for the bastard you carry in your womb," he said.

"No, please," she said, trying not to cry.

"In fact, the little one is rather in the way of everything. It's better if we just terminate….start over," he said teasingly, moving the knife from he throat and hovering it over her stomach.

"Please don't hurt her. Please, I'll do anything," she said.

Kwide took great pleasure in her fear, in the power it gave him. He was so taken with this feeling that he hadn't noticed Tom get out of his chair.

"Get away from her!" He yelled, tackling Kwide to the ground. The scalpel slid across the floor as the two began to fight.

Kathryn was terrified for what might happen, but she was unable to move from her seat. The restraints were too tight.

Kwide hit Tom's face with such force that it almost knocked him out.

Kwide stood up and brushed himself off.

"Great job Kwide. Off to a wonderful start," Clenak said.

"Shut up! I've had enough of you!" Kwide said.

"Failure," he whispered in Kwide's ear, chuckling.

"Stop it!" Kwide yelled.

"Worthless," Clenak whispered again. His voice no longer attached to anything Kwide could see.

"Murderer," Clenak said

"Enough!" Kwide yelled.

"Murderer," Cleanak yelled behind him. Kwide picked up the scalpel by his foot and turned around, driving it into Clenak's body.

"I said enough!" Kwide shouted, pushing the instrument deeper into Clenak's stomach.

"No!" Kathryn shouted.

Kwide's vision blurred for a moment before clearing; before realizing that he hadn't stabbed Clenak.

"You forget my dear Kwide. I'm not really here," he said, the voice fading away.

Tom grunted and fell to the ground, his blood spilling out onto the floor in front of him.

"What have I done?" Kwide cried out.


	15. Chapter Fourteen

"Please, you have to let me help him!" Kathryn shouted, staring desperately at Tom's pale, limp form lying on the ground, his deep red blood puddling beneath him.

"Shut up! I need to think, I just need to think. There's something here that can help. I just need to remember what it is," Kwide said, frantically searching the room, picking up tools and tossing them aside when he realized they weren't useful.

"You don't understand, he's going to bleed out. You need to put pressure on the wound, get control over the bleeding before he goes into shock," she pleaded with him, but it was of no use. He was determined to do things his own way.

"I said be quiet!" He shouted.

She looked down at Tom, his breathing was heavy and strained and his eyes were full of fear.

"Hold on Tom. Please, hold on," she begged him. Her voice broke from emotion while her eyes scrunched shut before opening again to only look into his, try hard not to look at the puddle of blood that grew larger by the second.

His eyes, glazed over and weary, found hers, and with a simple look she knew he'd do his best, she just hoped it would be enough.

* * *

"We are unable to comprehend how the Tuluj ship managed to travel such a distance so quickly. It is safe to say that it is unlike anything we have seen before," Tuvok stated.

"It's going to take us at least a week to even reach Tuluj space and that's with traveling at the highest speeds," B'Elanna added.

"Then we need to take the captain's suggestion of contacting their government again. Maybe they'd be willing to help now that we have proof of Kwide's deception," Harry suggested.

Chakotay stood tall at the head of the table, his mind racing and running over the scenarios in his head. He had to get them back, but he had to make sure they didn't get hurt. Ideally, he would uphold the prime directive and break as few rules as possible, but this wasn't an idyllic situation. Still, he knew that Kathryn wanted to contact the government for help and so that's what he'd do.

"You're right ensign, it's worth a try," Chakotay conceded.

"Meantime we all need to try our hardest to get to that planet as quickly as possible. We have no idea what they're going through right now, but the last recording that we were able to view tells us it's not good. The situation is serious, we need to treat it accordingly. Meeting dismissed,"

As everyone stood up to leave, Chakotay made his move to exit, but B'Elanna stopped him.

"Why won't you let me see what's on that recording? You said that the situation is dire, but something tells me that you're not saying everything. I don't need your protection and I don't want to be kept in the dark. So what the hell is going on?" She asked, hands on her hips and her eyes glaring into his.

"B'Elanna—" he started.

"No! I will not sit here being kept in the dark. I've had enough,"

He didn't want to worry her or upset her further so he tried to keep the information to himself but he had known it would only be a matter of time until she pressured him to tell her.

"Tom's recording device is currently not showing any visuals. Kathryn's was crushed, but continued to show distorted visuals for another sixty seconds before cutting off,"

He took a deep breath, not ready for her to hear what came next.

"Kwide threatened Kathryn with some sort of knife, it's hard to tell what it was. She convinced him to spare her, but his next threat was…to kill the baby. Tom saw it happening and leaped on top of Kwide, there was a physical altercation but the visual cut out. From the audio, we can tell that Tom was injured, but we don't know how badly. The last thing the audio picked up was Kathryn telling Tom to keep holding on,"

B'Elanna's eyes were filling with tears, but her jaw was set and stood very still as the information sunk in.

"B'Elanna we need to focus, to do everything we can to get to them before the situation gets worse."

She quickly cleared her voice and wiped away the single tear that had managed to escape.

"You're right. I should get back to check on the warp core. It's going to be a lot of work keeping it stable while we travel at such a high velocity."

"I have to work on getting into contact with the Tuluj. Keep me updated on how it's going in engineering," he said.

"I will." She said before walking out the door.

* * *

Fast-paced footsteps echoed throughout the vast hallway. The young Tuluj gentleman looked bug-eyed and jumpy. He nervously entered the throne room, trying to conceal his hesitation in approaching the king.

"Your Highness, we have received word from the starship Voyager," the timid voice called out.

"I thought we rid of those petulant creatures," he replied, not bothering to even look at him.

"We did sir, but they've come back. They've sent us proof that two of our government scientists have been breaking a number of laws for many months right under our noses," he said, anticipating an explosive reaction. One which never came.

"These scientists, they were the ones researching interpersonal connection or something, were they not?" The king asked with curiosity.

"That is correct sir," he replied.

"I knew that project would turn out disastrous." The king said, huffing and shaking his head.

"Would you like me to call a council meeting? Perhaps with their wisdom and advice, you all could come up with a way in which to proceed. As you know, According to Tuluj law these scientists should be prosecuted and the humans should be returned to their ship. I could handle—" he was interrupted, as the king looked at him with a distant look.

"No, no need. I'll handle this myself. We need this to go away quietly. I won't have the Tuluj be made into fools because of the reckless and idiotic behavior of two babbling frauds. And I will not have myself look foolish for endorsing the project of two criminals. No, there's no need for anyone else to know."

"What shall I tell Voyager, Sir?" He asked, concealing his shock at the king's plan.

"Nothing yet, but perhaps you should work on writing a condolence letter. In order for this to be buried, no one comes out alive, not even those…humans,"

"Ye…yes sir," he shook his head and cast his glance to his feet as he walked away.

"The council would not approve, not at all," he thought to himself. But none the less he sent the order, knowing that his fate would be far worse should he not.

* * *

"Please, Kwide you have to let me help him. Release me from my restraints and I promise you that I won't try to run, I won't fight. I just want to keep him alive," she begged.

"No, I cannot and will not trust you," he said scoffing at the idea.

"I can't see him breathing, he won't respond to my calls. If he isn't dead yet he's not far from it, you don't let me help then this whole project comes crashing down. Everything will have been for nothing," she said, trying to appeal to his logic.

"Fine, but if you try anything I won't hesitate to hurt you," he said, his words laced with hatred and anger.

He walked over and began to untie her restraints, but was interrupted by a banging on the door.

"Who's there?" Kwide shouted, feigning courage but shaking underneath the facade.

There was no reply other than more banging, someone was trying to break into the room.

"Stay out! This is private property, leave now or I will be forced to take action,"

The door flung open and all Kathryn could see was a flash of light striking Kwide in the chest and immediately he fell to the ground, lifeless and limp.

Kathryn felt her body shaking, her eyes refused to open out of fear for what would happen next. She knew if it were her people they would not have entered like that, nor would they have shot Kwide dead when he was unarmed.

"Relax, I'm only here to help," said a calming, female voice.

"I know you're frightened, but you'll be ok, so will your mate. He is not dead yet and I can help, but I need for you to trust me."

Kathryn slowly opened her eyes and was greeted with a very human looking woman, with turquoise skin and long jet black hair. For whatever reason, she was comforted by the woman's presence. She felt relief around the skin on her wrists and ankles as her restraints were undone.

"Who are you?" Kathryn asked.

"A friend. I promise I'll explain everything later, but for now, I need you to come with me. We cannot stay here. Word has gotten to my government about the true nature of this experiment, they want to destroy all evidence, that includes you." She helped Kathryn stand and handed over her boots from the corner the room.

"What about Tom? We can't move him,"

"I can stop the bleeding and inject him with fluids, it should be enough to help him make it to where we're going," she bent down and started using a tool to close the wound. She then walked over and got a hypospray and injected a serum into his neck.

"And where are we going?" Kathryn asked.

"Somewhere safe," she replied.

* * *

"Your majesty, I apologize, but I come bearing bad news," the young man trembled.

"What is it?" The king asked, unamused and highly annoyed.

"The team you sent to deal with the…research project. They found one scientist dead, the other was discovered buried in the land surrounding the compound…but the humans were unaccounted for."

This time he knew for a fact the king would explode with anger, and this time he had been right.

"You lost the humans?" He shouted.

"It would appear so."

"I suggest you find them and take care of them before word of this gets around, otherwise you and the other young maid would make fine replacements at the execution,"

The young man swallowed hard and knew that the king was serious. If he did not supply the humans to be executed it would be his head on the chopping block.

"Yes, sir I promise it won't happen again," he said, bowing and trying to think of how to proceed.

"For your sake, I hope it doesn't,"

* * *

Tom was on the bed, his breathing had evened out and color was slowly returning to his face.

"Thank you, for rescuing us," Kathryn said, moving a piece of Tom's hair off his forehead.

"Of course," she replied, walking over with a glass of water for Kathryn.

"What is your name?" Kathryn asked.

"My name is Clarakya, your name is…Kathryn and your mate is…Thomas," she said, reciting their names from memory.

"How did you know that?" Kathryn asked.

"My mate; he spoke many nights of his work. He told me about the two of you, how you were going to change everything, make our world a better place,"

"Who is your mate?" She asked.

"His name was Clenak. Sadly, I fear he is no longer with us."

Kathryn remembered that name from the report. He was the one who had tried to help them go back to Voyager but died in the process. His last act had been helping Chakotay.

"I'm sorry for your loss." She said.

"It is ok, in time I will make peace with his passing," she said, her sadness was contained but for a moment Kathryn saw the glimmer in her eyes.

"You said he was your mate? I thought your planet did not believe in mates," Kathryn said.

"That is true, which is why we have lived here, underground. No one can know. Therefore we lead two lives: one which we share with the world and one with only each other,"

"Clenak…he was one of the people who took us?" She asked.

"You must understand, my mate was a good man. He spent many nights unable to sleep over his guilt. He wanted to help you return to your people,"

"Then why did he capture us in the first place?" Kathryn asked, confused how such a supposedly good man could do such a thing.

"Everything he did…he did for us," Clarakya said.

"Us?" Kathryn asked in confusion.

"You can come out now, there's no reason to be afraid. These beings will not hurt you," She called out to the back wall. Kathryn then noticed that there was a hidden door, creaked open.

A small boy crept out from the shadows and leaped into his mother's lap, his head buried into her neck as she rubbed his back and kissed the top of his head.

"This is my son, Clenak's son. He is the first child in fifty years to be created and born naturally, without permission or intervention from our government. If anyone knew of his existence, we would all be killed. This is why Clenak started this project in the first place. Our son's existence grows harder to hide, the older he becomes. Clenak did not wish for his child to live his entire life underground so he worked on a way for the three of us to be accepted by society. He felt that drastic measures needed to be taken to ensure our safety, I suppose you two were the cost of that safety, I apologize. I suppose with his death, comes the death of his works, his great name, and our chances at freedom,"

"Maybe not," Kathryn said, still absorbing all the information.

"What do you mean?"Clarakya asked.

"My ship, it's coming for the two of us. If you wish to join us on our journey, we would be glad to have you. You wouldn't have to live in fear of persecution. We are practically a community in and of ourselves," she said.

"Are you sure? Wouldn't you have to speak with the leader of your vessel?" Clarakya asked, not wanting to get her hopes up.

"I am the leader," Kathryn replied with a gentle smile.

Clarakya's eyes grew wide in amazement.

"Fascinating. Women do not hold much power on my planet. Centuries ago that was much different."

"Why's that?" Kathryn asked.

"The women of my species once held many powers. Telepathy, empathic abilities, and great physical strength, but these have since gone dormant. We used these powers to rule peacefully, but the men feared our power, feared suppression, so they revolted and took over. Political powers have remained in their hands ever since. But the men are fools. Wars, famine, death, destruction, none of these occurred when the women had ruled. The men may hold the power but I have always believed that it's the women who understand it,"

"I think you'll fit in just fine on Voyager. No one is suppressed, no one holds complete power. As captain, I listen to everyone's input before making a large decision." She said, taking a sip of the water and eager to hear more about the Tuluj history.

"And my son, there will be a place for him on this ship as well?" She asked.

"Of course, the both of you are welcome."

"Thank you," Clarakya hugged her son close and closed her eyes.

"Don't thank me just yet. We have to find Voyager first."

"Perhaps in due time, they will find us." She suggested.

"Well, I know they're looking but we should figure out a way to make us easier to find."

"My mate left some of his machinery in the other room, there could be something of use to us."

"I'll take a look," Kathryn said.

Kathryn went to stand but immediately sat back down as her head spun in circles. A hand drifted to her stomach to ease the restless child inside. Eventually, she regained enough control to stand back up slowly.

"You are with child?" Clarakya asked.

"I am," Kathryn replied.

"You glow with the beauty of an expectant mother. I remember the feeling well, the anticipation of the little one's arrival, it is an unprecedented joy,"

"I agree." Kathryn said with a smile as she felt another light flutter.

* * *

"How much longer until we reach the planet, sir?"

"Approximately two days. We've made excellent progress. We have to believe that The captain and Lieutenant have remained safe, and continue to make our way to them as quickly as possible. Once we're in scanner range, I'll need everyone looking for life signs, bio-signatures, anything that seems peculiar or out of the ordinary, I want it reported to me." Chakotay said.

"Aye, sir,"

"Now, I'd like to assemble an away team of myself, B'Elanna, Harry, and Tuvok. Meet me in the ready room in an hour to discuss the logistics. Everyone else, you are dismissed."

* * *

His eyelids felt as if they were made out of lead. He felt sore and tired, not much of what happened had remained in his memory. He knew he tried to protect Kathryn, protect her baby, but after that it was a blur.

"mmm…" He moaned groggily.

"Tom?" An unknown voice spoke to him. It was calm and soothing, but still belonging to a stranger. He bolted upright, but immediately regretted it as a burning in the right side of his abdomen caused him to scream out.

"Kathryn, he is awake. Please, Thomas, calm down. You're safe now," Clarakya said, trying to ease him back into a resting position.

"What…what happened?" He asked.

"You were injured. Playing hero no less. You've been out cold for a few days, but Clarakya says you'll make a fine recovery." Kathryn said walking over to him with a grateful smile and a glass of water for his dry throat.

"Thank you," he said accepting the glass.

"No, thank you. I don't want to even think about what would have happened if you hadn't intervened," Kathryn said, taking his free hand in her own.

"I would never let anything happen to you…or your daughter for that matter." He said sincerely.

She smiled at him, that loving look that never failed to make his heart melt.

"Oh, I almost forgot. This is Clarakya she saved both of us. In the other room, her son Milek is asleep, he's nearly three." Kathryn said, trying to fill him in.

"Where are we?" He asked, looking around at the dark walls and small rooms.

"Underground. The government is trying to bury all evidence of the project, therefore they're trying to remove us from the equation. We're hiding until Voyager arrives, which should be any day now." She said.

"And Clarakya, won't you be punished for helping us?"

"Yes, which is why she and Milek are coming with us once Voyager arrives,"

"Well, I'm sure everyone will be glad to meet the woman who saved the captain and their best pilot. We'll be glad to have you aboard," he said with a tired smile.

"Yes, I very much look forward to it," Clarakya replied.

"Is there any way to contact Voyager and inform them of our situation?" Tom asked.

"Actually, that what I was working on, but figuring out some of this technology is rather difficult. Now that you're awake, maybe you could lend me a hand?"

"Of course, lead the way,"

* * *

"Your Majesty I—"

"Do not approach me unless you have good news," the king said rolling his eyes.

"We have found the location of the humans. They're being held underground by one of our own Tuluj citizens. I assume you'll want the traitor brought to you as well."

"Of course! Anyone who aids the humans or gets in the way of justice shall be punished accordingly,"

"Very well sir, they'll be here within the hour."

* * *

"I'm not sure what your species is used to eating but we have a small selection of food in the pantry if you're feeling famished."

"I would love something to eat," Kathryn said gratefully.

"Tom, would you like anything—" Kathryn paused, her face twisted in pain and then the familiar screams began. She fell hard to her knees and placed her hands on her head trying to counteract the pressure from within.

"Kathryn, what's—" Tom started but immediately stopped, matching exactly her screams of agony.

"They found us," Clarakya whispered in fright. She immediately ran to her child and tucked him inside the hidden room.

"You must be quiet, little one, be quiet for momma," she said overtop of the loud screams in the next room.

She closed the door and tried to help her new friends but the front door was banged off the hinges. In walked half a dozen armed men. The screams stopped and in the disorientation, they were able to easily grab Tom and Kathryn and carry them away. Clarakya, however, put up a fight.

"Let go of me! You have no right!" She yelled.

The men snickered and were carrying her out when they heard a stumble coming from the next room.

Clarakya's eyes went wide and her heart was beating out of her chest.

"Who else is here?" One of the men asked.

"No one, just me and the humans. There's no one else," she replied.

The man walked over to the wall and began knocking. Every knock sounded solid until he reached the middle where an echo shot back at his knock. He turned to face Clarakya with a sickening smile.

"No, please," she begged, but he didn't listen.

He opened the door and chuckled.

"Looks like she's been hiding more than just humans here, the slut."

He grabbed the child roughly by the arm. Milek immediately started wailing and screamed for his mother.

"No! You let him go, he didn't do anything! Please just let him go, please!" She screamed, trying to break free from the harsh grasp of the armed men.

The man smiled with the panicking child in his arms and walked right past her, taunting her with the sight of her crying child as he walked out the door.

"Please," she cried.


	16. Chapter Fifteen

"In less than forty-eight hours we'll be approaching the planet. I've contacted the Tuluj government and they said they would be looking into the problem, but I haven't heard anything since. We should prepare for the possibility that they aren't going to help us. I'm hoping that we won't have to take any action, but it's always better to be prepared for the worst."

Before he could continue discussing the plans, his comm chirped.

"Commander Chakotay, we've received video feed from the Tuluj,"

"Who is the message for?" He asked, hitting his badge.

"It's addressed to all of Voyager"

"Transmit the feed directly to the briefing room," he commanded.

"Aye, sir,"

The senior staff shifted their attention to the screen. A young nervous man popped into vision, fidgeting for a few seconds before taking a deep breath and beginning his speech.

"Greetings Voyager, I'm afraid I send this to bring you bad news. The government took your claims very seriously, they went to further investigate the scientists known as Kwide and Clenak. Unfortunately, upon arriving at the research laboratory our law officials discovered the bodies of said scientists. As they searched a bit more into the building, they discovered the bodies of your crew members as well. In accordance with Tuluj law, all four bodies were cremated upon discovery. I'm so very sorry for your loss. The Tuluj extend our condolences and wish you luck on returning to your planet."

The room was still and silent. No one was breathing, no one was blinking, they were all stunned. Finally, Harry Kim spoke up.

"Do we trust them?" He asked.

"I'm not sure, but I'm not willing to give up on this mission so easily. We thought they were dead before, and we were wrong then. Now, these people are telling us that they found and cremated their bodies. They offer no proof, no remains, nothing. It's all a bit too convenient. At the very least we should continue on our way to their planet. Even if they are…even if the Tuluj are telling the truth, we should still conduct our own investigation," Chakotay said, trying hard not to think about the possibility that they were in fact telling the truth.

"Now, I want everyone to keep going about their duties, keep working, and stay focused on the chance that they're alive. If we start to believe anything else…we just can't jump to these conclusions without any definitive proof," he sighed as his heart sunk to his stomach. Images of her smile, their future daughter's laugh, things he hoped against hope that he'd witness in the years to come. His eyes began to tear, but he couldn't break down there, not when he was trying to convince them all to keep up hope.

"Everyone's dismissed," he said, finally letting a tear fall once the last person left the room.

* * *

All three of them were shuffled into the throne room. Bags covered their heads and their hands were tightly tied behind their backs.

"Your Majesty, I present you with the traitor and the two fugitives," the young Tuluj said proudly.

"Bring me the scum of a Tuluj," the king said in disgust.

One of the guards stepped forward with Clarakya. He ripped the bag off her head and pushed her down to her knees.

"What has compelled you to go against your king? To go against my authority and hide two alien fugitives who—" he stopped his angry rampage as she looked up at him and he took in the image of her face.

"Clarakya—" he whispered in shock.

"Father," she replied with disdain.

"I should've known. Out of all my children, you were designed to have the most potential and yet you have always caused the most trouble," he said, shaking his head.

"Perhaps my potential was wasted. All this capacity for power and no idea how to use it or where to channel it…you were asking for trouble the second you made me," she said.

"Well? What do you have to say for your crimes?" he asked, clearing his throat and sitting tall.

"I regret nothing. They are good people, they deserve to be reunited with their own families," she said determinedly.

"What about your family? You chose to run away, live a life in the shadows rather than to live here in luxury and comfort. Your brother and sister listen, they do not disobey, they respect me. Why are you so different?"

"I only show respect to those who respect me." She replied.

"You wish for me to show you respect? You are weak, you aren't deserving of respect, no matter what any washed-up scientist may tell you." He said waiting for the impact of his words to hit her.

The shock was written all over her face.

"You knew?" she asked.

"Of course I knew. I have eyes everywhere. I had you followed all those nights you snuck out to meet him, all those days you claimed to be visiting the markets but really you were with him. Then one day you managed to disappear, and I hadn't heard much since. Occasional whispers of a girl living on the borders of the city who looked somewhat like the missing princess. And now I know why…a child. You have disgraced my good name and you produced a child with that bumbling idiot. I've never been so disappointed in my life,"

Her eyes watered and her lip trembled as she put together the pieces of the puzzle in her mind.

"Why? If you knew Clenak was my mate, then why support his project?"

"Part of it was to keep him under my control, he needed me and my support to continue his work. The other part of me was convinced that if he managed to succeed, you…might come back. I was a fool to even hope that could be possible."

"No, no you weren't. Have you seen his findings? The experiment with the two humans produced incredible results. If you just look you'll see that-"

"Enough! I don't need to see them, I don't care. Here is my deal. You come back and live at the castle once more. You and your son may be reunited but you must give up these prosperous ideas planted in your head, and you must release a statement saying that your son was created the proper way. You will speak the truth to no one, and you will resume your royal responsibilities immediately."

"And if I refuse?" she asked.

"If you refuse then I will sentence you to a life in prison and you will never see your child again."

"What is to become of the two humans?" she asked, looking back at them, still covered and bound.

"That is none of your concern," he replied quickly.

"It absolutely is of—" she argued but was cut off.

"Take the deal or leave it…last chance,"

"Fine, you have a deal," she said hesitantly.

"Good choice. Guards, take her back to her old room, and bring her son to her at once,"

She was released of her restraints and led out of the room.

"Bring me the humans," the king demanded.

The guards pushed the two towards the throne and removed the bags from their heads.

Tom immediately let his eyes adjust to the light and looked over to the right to see Kathryn with a bloodied lip and a bruised cheek.

"Kathryn, who did that?" He whispered.

"Silence!" The king shouted.

"Neither of you speak unless spoken to. Is that understood?"

"Yes," they both answered.

"What happened to the female?" The king asked, addressing the guard.

"She woke up mid-transport, we had to teach her what happens when she fights back," the guard replied.

"Very well but understand that I don't condone unnecessarily cruel behavior."

"Yes, sir. My sincerest apologies," he said.

"Now, back to the two of you. You belong to a ship called Voyager, I believe that to be true. You should know that I apologize that you were dragged into this mess, but you must understand how all of this would look if it got out. I supported a research project that broke laws, hurt people, and undermined my own beliefs. In order for this to truly go away, the two of you need to go away as well,"

"Then send us back to our ship, we'll be no bother and we won't tell anyone of what happened. You have my word," Kathryn demanded.

"I'm afraid it isn't that simple. I need to be sure that there are no loose ends. And currently, I'm staring at the last two."

"Guards, take them to the dungeon. Schedule an execution for tomorrow night at sunset." He said.

"No, you can't," Kathryn shouted.

"I'm afraid I can." He replied with a crooked smile.

"Please don't do this!" Tom yelled out.

"Guards, now!" the king demanded.

"No!" Tom said as the guards came over to remove him from the room.

"Get your hands off me!" Kathryn shouted, trying to fight back.

"Sir, may we use force?" one of the guards shouted out.

"Do what you must, but **only** what you must," the king replied nonchalantly.

"Kathryn!" He shouted as he saw a guard strike her knee and grab her head back by the hair. He immediately started fighting his way to her, but he was still weak and in pain. As he tried to run he was stopped by a blow to the head and his world went dark.

* * *

The constant and unchanging rhythm of water droplets hitting his forehead drew him back to consciousness. He bolted upright wincing at the pain it caused in his abdomen. He began breathing raggedly and searching the dark cell with his eyes.

It was hard to see, but as his blurred vision cleared and the light from the door illuminated just enough, he could see he was alone. Cinderblock walls and a dirt floor, leaky pipes, and the dark silence was all that surrounded him, he was caged in. His immediate thought was that if he was alone in here, where was Kathryn?

"Kathryn?" He called out.

"I'm here," came a muffled reply.

He turned his head to the right, she was behind that wall. He immediately tucked himself in the corner of the room, sitting as close to the wall as he could.

"Kathryn, are you alright?" he asked.

"I'm fine," she said.

"How's your knee?"

"How's your head?" She asked, avoiding his question.

"I'll be fine, but I need you to answer my question,"

"It's swollen and I can't walk on it. I think my kneecap might be shattered." She said.

"Don't try to walk on it anymore, it'll only get worse,"

"I'm not worried about my knee Tom," she said. Her voice heavy with emotion.

"What is it?"

"It's the baby, I haven't felt her move. She's normally so active I…I don't know why she isn't kicking,"

"That's doesn't always mean something bad Kathryn, how long has it been since she last kicked?"

"I haven't felt her move since we were taken from Clarakya's hideout. I knew the if that device was used again that…that something bad could happen and then I woke up in a panic and they hit me, and I fell. I tried to ask for help, but seeing as we're good as dead tomorrow night they won't listen,"

"When have I known you to give up so easily?"

"Tom, we traveled a three-week distance in a twenty-four hour period. Voyager still has a long ways to go and we only have maybe twenty hours left before we're executed. Our only ally has abandoned us, not that I blame her, but we have no options, no way out, no way to fight,"

"You are the captain, you have faced death so many times and won, I've seen it. I know the woman inside is scared, I know you are Kathryn, but right now you need to get a grip and focus on how we can get out of here alive."

"You're right, I'm sorry," she said, as her sadness was sucked up and tucked away and the captains mask was put into place.

"It's fine. Now, what did I miss during my nap?" he asked.

"The guards come to check the cells every hour on the hour. They peak in the window on the door and then they're on their way. So far, they haven't given us food or water, but one of the guards asked me what I'd like for my last meal."

"Well, at least they're polite,"

He heard her chuckle, which was immediately cut short by a gasp and a slight groan.

"What is it, did the baby move?" He asked.

"No…Tom, she…she didn't move," he heard her voice reply thick with concern, but she was trying to conceal that.

"Then what is it?" He asked, his stomach dropping.

She remained silent. As he shifted his positioning on the ground to try and hear through the wall a little better, she was taking deep and painful breaths.

"I'm fine… I'm fine it's nothing. Let's just focus on how we can get out of here," she said shakily, tightening her eyes closed and trying to stop the tears. She looked up at the ceiling rather than focusing on her hands, now coated in the blood that was slowly pooling beneath her legs.

"Taya…please… please, no" she whispered tearfully, quietly enough that Tom couldn't hear.

* * *

"You plan to execute them?" Clarakya asked, barging through the door.

"My dear daughter, how lovely it is to see you,"

"They're good people. They've done nothing wrong," she said.

"It doesn't matter. I need this buried and it will be as soon as they are."

"What about me?" she asked angrily.

"What about you?"

"I know everything, I am an eye witness to it all" she said, placing her hands on her hips.

"So, what, are you asking to be executed?" he scoffed.

"If I were anyone else, I'd already been dead. The number of laws I've broken, the disrespect I've shown. I would've been shot on sight,"

"Maybe you're right, but it doesn't matter. What does matter is that my daughter is home and I know she won't speak a word of this knowing full well I have control over what happens to her son,"

"You're threatening my son?" she asked, anger and hatred coating every word.

"No, but if you refuse to drop this conversation maybe I will,"

"Fine, but at least give them another day. They are my friends, let them have one extra day lived in comfort rather than a cell. They don't deserve to be treated so cruelly,"

"If you insist, but any funny business and the execution gets moved to tonight." he agreed.

"Very well, no funny business. Thank you, father."

"Of course."

* * *

Clarakya walked swiftly through the hallways and down the steps to the darkest part of the castle. Eventually, she came across the armed guards.

"What are you doing down here princess?" one asked.

"Open the doors and release the prisoners. They are being moved to the guest rooms in the main part of the palace,"

"According to who?" he asked.

"According to my father," he said, handing them a document detailing the order.

"Very well, I'll take you to them,"

She followed the guard and waited outside as he carried an angry Tom Paris into the hall. He was clutching his stomach and trying to fight off the hands of the guard.

"What are you doing? Where are you taking—" he stopped when he saw Clarakya standing there. She went to smile but hesitated under the circumstances. It was then she noticed his teary eyes. She sensed deep within her that it was not because of pain, not because of stress, but rather of concern and frustration.

"Why are you crying?" She asked.

"It's Kathryn, I've been trying to talk to her for over an hour and she won't respond. I yelled for the guards but no one listened,"

"Is that true?" She asked the guard.

"We aren't supposed to listen to prisoners," he replied.

"Maybe you ought to start. Now open the other damned door," she commanded angrily.

The guard released a huff and unlocked the door, swinging it open.

"Oh, my," Clarakya said, shocked by the scene.

Kathryn laid completely still, her skin was drained of any color and blood was puddled around her legs. Tom tried to break free of the guard, releasing a loud scream in horror at the sight. He fell to his knees with a sob as the guard yanked him back up.

Clarakya wanted to cry, she never imagined she'd find her like this. Running to her side, she placed both hands on the cold body and focused all her energy on her. Her mind went numb, only filled with thoughts of healing.

Slowly, the color returned to her skin, her breathing evened out and her eyes fluttered open.

Clarakya violently released her grip and fell backwards, blood trickling from her nose.

"Wha... what's going on?" She asked.

She adjusted herself and went back to Kathryn's side.

"You were injured, your baby…she…"

Kathryn's eyes filled with tears and a sad smile graced her features.

"She moved, Clarakya. I just felt it. You…how did you?"

"I'm not sure… Come now, let's get you cleaned up. We can talk more about this later."

"Your nose," Kathryn said, concerned.

"It's nothing, just come with me,"

Kathryn nodded and accepted help on the way out the door. Tom stopped sighed with relief.

"I thought you were dead," he said.

"I'm ok," she replied, and he nodded.

* * *

Two hours went by as Kathryn settled into her new room for the night. She showered, getting rid of all the blood and trying to wash away the memories of pain and fear. As she went to lie down in the bed there was a knock at the door. As she opened it, she came face to face with a guard.

"The king has granted you time with the other prisoner as suggested by princess Clarakya. You have until sunrise to say goodbye, that gives you three hours," he said, pushing Tom into the room and undoing his bindings.

The door was then closed and locked, only the two of them inside.

"Tom I—" before she could get another word out and came over and pulled her into a searing kiss.

"I thought I'd lost you. Kathryn, I've never been so scared in my life," he said looking at every feature of her face and committing her to memory. He went to pull her in for another kiss, but she resisted.

"Tom…we can't,"

"I know…I know I'm sorry. I'm just happy you're ok," he said with a gentle smile.

"It's fine, I understand," she said with a hand gently cupping his face.

He nodded and separated from her, walking to the other side of the room and taking a seat on the couch by the windows.

"How's your head, and your stomach? You must be in pain after everything," she asked.

"Considering I've been stabbed, beaten, and bashed over the head, I'd say I'm doing pretty well. They gave me medication for the pain once they put me in the other room," he said.

"How about you, how are you holding up?" he asked.

"Considering everything…I'm ok. We'll see how long that lasts," she said grimly.

"Well…apparently we have three hours together, what do you wanna do?" he asked.

"I was about to rest for a bit, but I should probably eat something first,"

"Ok, so we'll eat," he said with a smile.

* * *

Sometime later, after they had eaten, they sat on the couch and talked for a while before Kathryn began to drift off. Her head rested on Tom's shoulder as he relished in the feeling of her in his arms. He thought for a moment that it was probably for the last time, regardless of whether or not they were rescued.

His thoughts were interrupted as the door began to open.

"Kathryn? Tom? We need to talk about, oh—" Clarakya said, lowering her voice as not to wake Kathryn, but it was too late.

"Hmm?" Kathryn grunted, sitting up straight.

"I'm so sorry I didn't mean to wake you," Clarakya said.

"No, no it's alright. What is it?" Kathryn asked.

Clarakya walked over and sat on the couch next to them.

"I would've come sooner, but my father kept me held up,"

"Why didn't you tell us your father was the king?" Tom asked.

"I promise, I'll explain everything, but we don't have much time. The sun has nearly risen. What we need to discuss is your execution, we're going to get you out of it,"

"How?" Kathryn asked with a smirk.

"I have a plan," Clarakya replied with a smirk of her own.


	17. Chapter Sixteen

"Are you ready?" He asked.

"As ready as I'll ever be," she replied, looking deep into his eyes, concealing her fear with a gentle smile.

She reached down and grabbed his hand, squeezing it tight.

"Kathryn, if this doesn't work…if something goes wrong, I—" he spoke with heavy emotion but was interrupted as the door was slammed open and three guards walked in one behind the other.

"You two, get up. It's time," the one guard spoke, his voice deep and dark like rolling thunder in a great storm.

Kathryn nodded and the two of them stood up, not bothering to resist as they were shackled and pushed roughly out the door and down the long hall.

The king stood tall and proud as the small crowd came in and took their seats. No more than twenty excited Tuluj sat and gazed with awe upon the bright blue machine that had ended thousands of lives throughout its use. They were aristocrats and businessmen, who paid a pretty price to be witnesses to executions, viewing it as an exclusive event which needed to be celebrated. As the crowd was silenced, the king began his speech.

"Welcome friends, I'm sure you are all quite eager to witness another day where justice is fairly served. The two criminals in question aided in an underground experiment which was highly illegal and could have compromised everything we as a society stand for. They will be swiftly executed according to our laws and will be cremated immediately following," he said with an easy smile. His speech was met with enthusiastic applause and great smiles around the room.

The guards entered slowly, pushing the prisoners in front of them until they fell to their knees.

"Here they are gentlemen, the traitors. Get a good look at them while you can," the king said, feeding into the group's amusement.

As they laughed and jeered and made their snide comments, a guard snuck up beside the king and whispered a message in his ear.

"You're sure?" the king asked.

The guard simply nodded.

"Fine, if they refuse to listen, we'll just have to send a few fighter-ships their way. Hopefully, it'll scare them off. If that doesn't work, we'll take further necessary action," he whispered.

The guard nodded and walked out into the hall. He pressed on his earpiece and began to speak.

"The king says it's a go. Send five fighter-ships to Voyager's location. Fire shots and give the message to turn back. If they refuse or give any trouble, report it back to me. Keep me updated"

* * *

"Understood," replied a voice.

"Update?" Chakotay asked, making his way onto the bridge.

"About ten hours away sir," the ensign replied.

"Very good, when we're two hours out, slow to impulse,"

"Aye Sir," the ensign nodded.

Chakotay took a seat next to the empty captain's chair, his heartbreaking each time he realized she wasn't sitting beside him. Snapping out of his daze, he tapped his comm badge.

"Chakotay to B'Elanna, how's the warp core holding up?"

"It's better than expected, but after this is all done it's going to need some serious repairs. We're cutting it close with our dilithium supplies. If we don't get more soon it could get worse,"

"Understood, let me know if anything changes," he said, closing the comm.

He quietly huffed and closed his eyes, imagining her smile, her voice, her hand gently laid in his.

"Sir?" Harry Kim called out.

"What is it?"

"We're receiving a message from the Tuluj. Looks to be a video message. Should I send it to the ready room?"

"Yes," he said, standing up and walking hurriedly towards the ready room.

He sat down at the desk and pressed play on the console. The message began as a Tuluj woman came into view.

"My name is Clarakya, princess of the Tuluj. I send this message in secret to inform you that your people are alive and well, but not for long. My father has set their execution for just a few hours from when this message was recorded. I'm not sure how long it will take to reach your ship, or if the message will reach you at all. I hope it does. I have tried to find a way out of the execution diplomatically, but it was of no use. Your captain and I have devised a plan that with a little luck, should prove successful. Listen carefully in these next few minutes, for what I have to explain could mean the lives of your loved ones,"

As he leaned in, curious and listening intently to every word she had to say, he felt the ship jolt and he rocked to the side.

He walked quickly back onto the bridge.

"Report," he commanded.

"Five ships are surrounding us, weapons fired from the second ship on the right. They're attempting to make contact,"

"On screen," he commanded.

An angry looking Tuluj appeared before them.

"You have been warned. Turn away from Tuluj space or we will be forced to fire,"

"We just wish to visit the planet to conduct a proper investigation in the disappearance of our people," Chakotay said.

"Your people are dead, there is no need for an investigation. Turn back or face the consequences,"

Chakotay turned around and caught Tuvok's eyes. The Vulcan did not waver, never letting anyone know what thoughts were contained inside. But the tiny twinge of his eyebrow told Chakotay that he was a little nervous, unsure that Voyager would be able to hold it's own against all five weaponized ships.

"Give us time to plot a new course, we'll slow our speeds and, but I will not just make a turn and potentially lead my ship somewhere dangerous.

"Very well, you have one hour," the Tuluj replied, his annoyance blatant in his features.

The screen went back to the black expanse scattered with stars. Chakotay turned around.

"Emergency senior staff meeting in ten minutes."

Chakotay walked back to the ready room and pressed play. Clarakya began speaking once more.

"The execution is done using a machine called the "hibituan" it means "bringer of death" in our native language. Your captain tells me it is similar to a contraption from medieval earth called a guillotine. Part of my plan involves this machine—"

* * *

The king stood over the two prisoners.

"Any final statements you wish to make?" he asked with a smile.

"We are innocent, you are ending three lives with no real cause. We were the victims –" Kathryn started, but was cut off by a slap to the face. As Tom witnessed it, his blood boiled but the guard had picked up on this and anticipated his attempt to lunge at the king.

"You son of a bitch!" Tom called out.

Kathryn composed herself and looked the king dead in the eyes, her anger growing with each second passing by.

"You are the biggest hypocrite I've ever met. You say you believe one thing, but you truly think another. You say you don't condone unnecessarily cruel behavior but here you are killing three innocents and slapping a pregnant woman in her final moments. You're weak, and a coward and I feel sorry for the people who look to you for guidance. I hope your rule comes to an end very soon, and I hope they see you for what you truly are," Kathryn said, as a drop of blood ran down her lip.

The rest of the room hadn't heard her speech, too busy chucking and conversing with one another to notice she had said anything at all, but the king had.

He stared at her, his eyes glowing with anger, a clenched fist by his side. She half expected him to strike her again. Almost within a single second, his expression changed from anger to calm and a smile crept over his features, sending a chill down Kathryn's spine.

"Bring the man up first. I want her to watch as his head rolls to the floor,"

Her glare pierced through his calm demeanor, but he never let it show. He was ready to watch her heartbreak as he took the life of someone she cared for. Ready to watch her spirit wither away as she watched helplessly from the side of the room.

The guards complied and dragged him to the center of the room.

As the whole room watched Tom being dragged towards the machine, no one managed to notice a figure in a dark hood slip into the back of the room.

"By Tuluj law, you have gone against our society. You have conspired, colluded, and plotted to bring down the very beliefs and values that we abide by, that we rely upon to deliver a world built on perfection and excellence. For these crimes, you shall be punished. For these crimes, you shall die," The king turned to face his audience as the applause and cheering flooded his ears and expanded his smile.

"The hibituan will ensure that your death a painless one, a press of a button and it will all be over," he said as the machine was turned on.

A bright blue line radiated at the top, once the button was pressed it would drop onto the prisoner's neck, severing their head from their body in one motion.

The king gave a nod towards the guard and therefore the signal was sent that it was time. The guard pushed Tom down and forced his head to rest on the base.

Tom closed his eyes, his breaths coming in shallow and ragged. Kathryn was shaking, her heart had dropped into the pit of her stomach and she forgot how to breathe.

"Now," the king yelled.

The guard pressed the button. Immediately the blue line of light dropped.

"What the…" the guard muttered as he realized the line had stopped halfway down.

"What is going on, I said release the hibituan," the king yelled impatiently.

"I'm not sure what's going on sir. I pressed the button but it refuses to drop….it's stuck. This has never happened before,"

"Well fix it. Now!" he yelled.

"Yes, your majesty," the guard said, removing Tom from his spot and inspecting the machine.

As the guards inspected the machine, only one was watching over Kathryn and one over Tom. One guard stuck his hand under the machine, not noticing that blue line of light was coming down on him.

A scream of pain echoed throughout the room, Kathryn turned around as quickly as she could, bashing the guard over the head and making a run for it. As she came into the hall, she saw Tom standing there with the hooded figure.

The hood was pulled down to reveal Clarakya with a concerned look and a bloody nose.

She wiped it with her sleeve and bent down to unlock the restraints on both of them.

"Follow me, we don't have much time," she said.

The three of them ran down the corridor until they found an exit.

"Stay down, there are guards on patrol. The word about your escape might have already reached them,"

"How much further?" asked Kathryn

"Just across the field, there's a hangar where some of our ships are stored,"

Kathryn nodded.

The three of them started running, the yellow grass tickling their skin, each one nervous and looking all around to ensure the coat was clear. As they were near to the hangar they heard yelling behind them.

"There they are! Over here, headed for the hangar!" A guard yelled out.

"Run," Tom said.

They bolted and finally made it inside. They were faced with nearly thirty ships in front of them and ten armed guards hot on their tails.

Tom was distracted by the largest ship in the hangar, covered in black and blue with large weapons and fancy wings.

"Which one?" Kathryn asked impatiently.

"Over here!" Clarakya replied.

Kathryn followed but Tom hesitated, still entranced by the large ship.

"Tom!" Kathryn yelled.

"Coming," he replied.

The three of them entered a medium-sized grey ship, Tom slightly disappointed at the plainness of it.

As they walked in, Kathryn noticed movement in the front of the ship and grew cautious, but Clarakya kept moving without hesitation.

"There's my brave boy," Clarakya said, picking up her son and kissing his forehead.

Kathryn relaxed a tiny bit and looked around.

"Tom, can you fly it?" Clarakya asked.

"If you tell me how to start her up, I'm sure I can figure it out,"

"First let's close the hatch, those guards are getting pretty close," Kathryn suggested.

Clarakya hit a few buttons, turning the ship on and then hit the lever to close the hatch. As it slowly raised, a few guards managed to catch up, firing some shots in the space where the hatch was still open.

"Get down," Clarakya shouted.

Kathryn turned to look. As she went to crouch down, a shot managed to hit her, and she fell to the ground. The hatch had finally closed, shots still ricocheting off the outside as the guards continued their assault.

"Kathryn!" Tom shouted.

"We have to get out of here. You fly the ship I'll care for her. Now go!" Clarakya said.

He nodded hesitantly and sat in the pilot's seat.

He stared down at the controls completely lost on where to even begin.

"Hit the red button, lift the second lever on the right, and use the control sticks to maneuver," Clarakya shouted, sensing his confusion.

He nodded and followed her instructions.

They lifted off the ground, wobbly, but he quickly got a hold of it and had them out of the hangar.

Clarakya helped Kathryn sit up and heard her groan. She blew out a breath, grateful that Kathryn was even alive.

"Are you alright,"

"My shoulder, I was just hit in the shoulder. I'll be fine,"

Clarakaya tore Kathryn's clothing to get to the wound. It was a large burn that expanded over her shoulder and neck. This was considered graze by her standards. If she had been hit directly, she would have had a hole burned right through her shoulder.

"Just stay here, I'll look in the first aid and see if there's anything in there,"

Kathryn nodded and remained seated on the ground. They were just about to leave the atmosphere when Tom looked back at her. Her skin was pale in contrast to the angry red of the burn. His heart ached to see her hurt, but he trusted that she would be alright like Clarakya said.

"Can't you just heal her?" he asked.

"Tom, whenever she uses her powers, she becomes weak and starts bleeding. She already used them once today, I don't want her hurting herself trying to help me. My life isn't in any danger, the baby's life isn't in any danger. I'll be fine," Kathryn argued, her voice weak and breathy.

Clarakya heard the conversations as she came back with the first aid kit.

"If I knew how to help you I would. Last time I acted on instinct, I never even knew I could do that, but you're right. With each use of my power I grow weak for an extended period of time, but when I healed you…I had never felt such a drain on my body. If your life were in danger I wouldn't hesitate, but since it isn't, I'd rather not feel so weak, especially when we aren't out of danger quite yet," she said as she opened the kit and pulled out a few tools.

"I understand. Besides, once we get back to Voyager the doctor can fix it," she said.

"Sure, he'll fix you, and then give you an hour long lecture on why you should never leave the ship again for the duration of your pregnancy. I can't say I wouldn't agree with him,"

She laughed, but then quickly hissed with pain as Clarakya pressed something onto the burn.

"Here, this should help with the pain for now. I should go help Tom increase the speeds. I managed to bribe one guard to tell me the last known location of Voyager. I'll plug in the coordinates."

"How did you get your son? I thought your father kept him under strict supervision," she asked.

"The nurse who was watching over my son was my friend. She used to help me sneak out to meet Clenak. I knew she'd help me if I needed her to."

"I'm glad she came through. Clarakya, I want to thank you. You didn't have to help us, but without you…we'd be dead,"

"You can thank me when we get to Voyager," She said with a smile.

"Besides, I'm the one who should thank you, you are offering me…offering my son a different life, a better life, and for that I will never be able to repay you," she said honestly.

Kathryn smiled weakly and rubbed small circles on her stomach with the hand from her unharmed side. A gentle kick made her smile grow slightly and her heart swell.

"Alright, let's find Voyager," Clarakya said, standing up and making her way to Tom.

"You'll want to press the blue button on the third row and release this trigger. After that, we'll all need to hold on while the ship jumps into high speed. I'll plug in the coordinates and it should take about five minutes to reach our destination,"

"You'll have to tell us how this ship travels hours distance in five minutes,"

"Don't worry, I plan to," she replied with a grin.

"Ready?" She asked.

"Milek, why don't you sit next to me, I need a someone big and strong to hold onto while the ship goes fast," Kathryn said to the little boy, causing him to smile brightly and nod. He took a seat next to her and they held on to one another. His hands found her stomach and jumped as he felt a kick. She chuckled and whispered to him, explaining that her baby was inside there and wanted to say hello.

"Here we go," Clarakya said.

As soon as everything was in order and the buttons were hit, the ship rocked violently and began speeding through space so quickly that looking at the screen, it looked blank.

After five minutes, the ship slowed down. The screen in front of them showed Voyager, as well as five other ships. Both parties were firing at one another.

She looked at Tom, both had concern and fear so obviously written on their expressions.

"Looks like my father sent a few reinforcements," she said.

* * *

Consoles were smoking, sparks were flying, and the crew was in chaos.

"Sir, Shields are down to thirty percent," Harry Kim yelled out.

"Return fire," Chakotay commanded.

Tuvok chimed in.

"Another ship has appeared. It looks to be a different classification, but it is another Tuluj ship,"

"Let's not wait for them to join in,"

"Fire," he said.

* * *

The ship shook with great force.

"Voyager is firing on us, they think we're with the fighter ships,"

"Let me handle this. If they're here, then they probably haven't received word of our escape. Let me try and speak to them before they do, maybe I can convince them to leave. You three need to get out of sight while I contact them,"

Tom nodded, walked back, and helped Kathryn up. He guided her and Milek

towards the back of the ship where they wouldn't be seen on the visuals.

"Who dares…Princess? What are you doing here?" the general asked.

"My father sent me to deliver a message,"

"He sent you? Why would he send you and not your brother or even a guard?"

"Because the kingdom is under attack. Every man who is able to fight needs to be back planet-side. The king demands your return,"

"What about Voyager?"

"You are to cease fire and return to Tuluj at once, leave the humans to me. I've come to offer them a deal, one which they will want to take,"

"How do I know this is true? Why should I take your word?" he asked.

"Our home is in an emergency situation. Feel free to ignore my words, but know that you risk ending your career and you risk a life in prison for running away from battle,"

"Wouldn't we have received some sort of communication or documentation?" he asked.

"Communications systems are down, and I didn't think the king would enjoy my careless wasting of time by getting official documentation. We need reinforcements….now!"

"Yes, princess. I'll call off the attack, but if this is a ruse…you'll be hearing from me again,"

"After I'm done discussing with Voyager, I will return home. You have my word that I speak the truth."

The Tuluj nodded and the screen went black.

"You can come out now, I'm sure Voyager would much rather speak with you," She said, smiling as Tom walked up to take her place.

* * *

"Weapons fire has ceased. The ships are turning back. All except for one,"

"They're hailing us!"

"On screen,"

Chakotay stood tall in those few seconds, ready to put on a hard expression, ready to hide his anger and his fear, and ready to be the leader the Voyager needed, that Kathryn would want him to be.

But then the screen turned on as he released a breath that he hadn't realized he was holding. Tom Paris; he had never been happier to see that boyish grin, especially in the past few months.

"Well, I'm sure glad to see all of you. Permission to come aboard?" Tom asked.

"Permission granted," Chakotay said.

"Tom!" a voice, unrecognized by Chakotay called out in the background.

Tom turned around to see whatever was behind him, and suddenly when he looked back, his expression of relief had become one of worry.

"We're gonna need an emergency transport to sickbay for Kathryn,"

Chakotay's heart dropped.

"Tom, what's going on. Where is she," he asked, growing nervous about the answers he'd recieve.

"She's ok, but she was shot with some sort of weapon as we were making our escape. She has a pretty bad shoulder wound, I'll explain more when we're on board,"

He nodded, silently praying that everything was ok.

* * *

Kathryn lost track of what had happened. She remembered Tom hailing Voyager, but after that, it went dark. She felt weak and cold, and her shoulder went numb.

The next time her eyes had opened, they were squinting at the harsh light of her least favorite place, Voyager's sickbay. But she had honestly never been so happy to see the bright, clean, and sterile space that she had always avoided.

"Welcome back, captain," the doctor said with a smile.

"You'll be happy to know that I've healed the burns on your shoulder, but the toxin released in your bloodstream will take a few hours to dissipate. Luckily it didn't reach the baby. You'll be able to be released within the hour,"

"Toxin…what toxin?" she asked.

"Your new friend tells me that she had never seen it before, but she came to the conclusion that her people must have updated their weapons to release a toxic chemical in addition to the burns. The chemical wasn't quite as harmful to human physiology but left untreated, you and your daughter would've been in a far worse condition,"

"Thank you, doctor," she said with a smile.

"Ah yes, I forgot to mention, the commander wished for me to alert him when you wake. He should be here soon, I alerted him as you were starting to come out of it,"

Before she could reply, she was interrupted by the hiss of the door.

She slowly sat up, a hand over her stomach and smiled. Her eyes lit up as she watched him enter the room, as did his.

He rushed over to her, cupping her face in his hands and kissing her deeply. She reciprocated eagerly, and the doctor rolled his eyes.

"I'll just give you your privacy, in my own sickbay," he said, shaking his head.

"Are you ok? The baby?" he asked.

"We're fine... I missed you," she said with a smile.

"I love you so much, Kathryn. I was so worried, even when Tom came and said you had been hurt, I was so…"

"Chakotay I'm ok. I promise. But there are things we need to discuss what happened on that planet, about Clarakya, and about her ship. Chakotay I think she's our way home," she said with a hopeful smile.

"Tom gave me a briefing about what went on. I have B'Elanna looking over their ship right now,"

Kathryn's heart soared, she was filled with a new sense of hope, of happiness, and excitement. Suddenly she couldn't help the words coming out of her mouth.

"Chakotay….ask me again?" she said, looking deep into his eyes.

"Ask you what?"

"Ask me….what you asked me that day in the New earth program,"

"Kathryn….are you.."

"Just…ask," she said with a smile.

He took a deep breath.

"Kathryn Janeway, you have held my heart in your hands since the moment we met. I vowed long ago that I would follow you, carry your burdens and make your life easier. Somehow, I was lucky enough to fall in love with you and have that love reciprocated. I know we've had hard times, but even those were better compared to life before you. So, I'll ask you again, and I'd ask you a million times. Will you marry me?"

"Yes Chakotay, I will marry you," she said with a chuckle as tears fell down her cheeks.

He immediately kissed her and wrapped her up in his arms. He felt something moving in between them and laughed.

"I don't think out daughter enjoys being crowded like this," he said.

"Too bad, I'm not ready to let go," she said burying her face in his neck.

"You don't have to," he said, relishing the feeling of her in his arms, wishing that moment would never end.

Sadly, his wish hadn't come true.

Chakotay's comm rang and with a sigh, he pulled away and answered it

"Commander, you and the captain might want to come to the shuttle bay, there's something you need to see," B'Elanna's voice rang out, her excitement barely concealed, and the two of them shared a look of amusement.

"Well, captain, your uniform is in the next room, I'll see you in the shuttle bay," he said with a smirk.

She smiled and as he turned to leave, she pulled him back for a quick but passionate kiss.

"Chakotay…when we get home, I want to settle down. I want to give our daughter what my father couldn't give me. I don't want to divide my attention between Starfleet and our family. I think I've had enough excitement for a lifetime,"

"You seem awfully sure that this technology is going to work," he said.

"I have to be sure. I'm the captain," she said with a smirk.

"That you are," he replied before walking out the door.

She carefully put her uniform back on, while the doctor lectured her about leaving sickbay prematurely. As she walked out the door and down the corridor, her daughter kicked lightly, and she smiled.

"Soon little one, we'll be home soon," and for the first time, she honestly believed it.


End file.
